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I just got thrown into it. In residential. I grabbed my manhood and did it. Yet in 2012, if you have not done hvac for at least a decade in the field, going to school, thinking it will teach you how to do service is LOL.. The way these company's are are doing buisness now, with things not making sense, your in deep crap... The 1st time you see flash gas on a furnace I will LOL..

the trade is in need of real SERVICE techs right now...


due to the crazy ass crap contractors are doing to make $$$

Like someone else said; "Fake it 'til you make it".

I started out doing commercial sheet metal installs. Company sponsored me in an apprenticeship. Then I learned to help out on the piping and wiring side of said commercial installs. Then I learned to run the sheet metal side of an install, as well as do pipe and duct insulation. Then I started doing startup on new equipment and helping the T&B contractor. I took a lot of pride in my work and I was always focused more on the end result than I was on the bottom line.

I tried to aim myself towards service more with everything I did. I got my Journeyman's card, and got my first job doing 100% service work by using my experience in installation and the fundamentals I learned in the apprenticeship classes.

So many things to add but I'm sure this depends on what part of the country you are in but one of the first restraunts I ever started working for is a mexican restraunt. So if you ever think reading these kind of post as a new tech. Seeing how the older or current service techs got their start and where they are today. One thing I can tell you that really helped me and the wife get as busy as we are (and I mean so busy that our day usually starts for her at 3:45am she has to get her extremely long hair fixed up in the morning and get dressed lol she is worse than I am about looking good walking out of the door and I never thought anyone would beat me lmao and I'm up at 4am but we both walk out the door and in the trucks getting the laptops logged into the system and checking all fo the radios out and making sure that we have the inventory on the truck and trailer that our computers say that we do or what we know we need so after all of that and the welders and generators are checked and fueled and we change out any close to empty gas cylinders that we need to and we just changed to buying chemicals by the cases in gallon jugs to having 55 gallon drums that we refill 5 gallon jugs with valves on them to refill our sprayers for coil cleaning etc. then we fuel the trucks last thing in the morning butnim sure I can go on and on about this in another post ) but if you are bilingual or multi lingual it's a huge help both of us are multi lingual but the only language we share in common is English and American sign language it's not used often nor is our TTY keyboards in the trucks it's mainly went to emails to those customers but learn a second language it will help you in the long run and for sure will put you ahead of someone else looking for a job. And the language used most by me is Spanish by her is Arabic don't ask me what style she talks because it all sounds the same to me but she says that she had to learn 3 dialects to service the amount of customers she has. like I said before we never seen it coming. How busy we got blows me away and I have no clue how we get done in a day what we do. Especially with her still working a full time job that she gets jobs done after she has been at it all day. And the money keeps coming in and we keep putting a good sized part of it back into the trucks and inventory. But get somewhere and turn into a sponge and yes you get the krap work for awhile but it pays off in the end.

Just decided to do it on my own.

Thank god for my family most of them are master electricians but others are master of mechanical systems as I hold both of those titles. For the most part I'm consitered the quiet one. So I had money in the bank and three GMC Yukon XL's a 2001 and 2004 and a 2010 and took two of them and put graphics on the 04 and 2010 and told the wife guess what your in the 2010 and I'm in the 04 it's got all the equipment in it and here is your list for the day LOL it went over really well the first two days but 2 years later we are so busy that we talk over the two way radio more than we see each other. She has her own group of commercial buisness that she takes care of as so do I but we mix in residential work as it comes in. The next nightmare was the trailers and the equipment on them the welders and sheet metal tools along with odds and ends stuff for the really big jobs. But both of us had been raised in family's of HVAC and electrical, plumbing, industrial maintance, and many many other trades and learned all we could and we both worked for companies for 10-12 years before we did it on our own. She still works at the local hospital to keep health insurance on both of us and she works in the HVAC shop there. Now as for what keeps us really busy and frustrated is the ones getting out of these HVAC schools and trying to do it on thier own. They don't have any on the job exp. and can screw up a 10 ton unit faster than anything I've ever seen and please guys wait until you find a opening in a real company with licensed techs and actually pull permits like they should and has a master of mechanical systems that oversees all jobs. It's the only way to learn. So what if you spend a few years bending sheet metal at least you'll be damn good at it. But don't go out there on your own and think that what you learned in class has you in any way ready to handle service calls on your own. You got the book learning done now learn how not to screw up and have to call someone to get you out of a mess. I've gotten calls from people I barely know asking air flow questions on 410 units and you can tell they are in over thier heads. It's a good field to be in and once you really work your ass off for a customer and they notice you always go the extra mile and you don't charge them a arm and a leg they will always keep you busy.

Went to tech school for a year and got hired right out of school. Thought I knew a lot more about the field than I actually did. Way in over my head at times. Ran maintenance for about a year and got laid off during the slow times. Got hired on at my current company running service over 2 years ago and haven't looked back. Studied hard, attended many training classes on personal time and learn from my own mistakes. As well as picking the brains of the senior tech at the company. Still learning as I go, but there is never a time that I don't have confidence in myself that I can fix any issue I come across.

Critterhunter, this isn't going to help, but I got started in the Navy. When I was attending EN A school the instructor asked each of us what we were looking to do as Enginemen. Every student, but me, said they wanted to get the AC&R school and work A Gang. I said I wanted to work on heavy diesel engines. They sent me to the AC&R shop on the USS Ponce. From there it was almost impossible to get a main prop. billet. Unitl the day I retired from the USCG, 21 years later, I never did get my main prop duty. They sent me to a variety of schools, but, this is what I found myself doing. It wasn't til I retired last fall that I started liking this kind of work. I find that I have much to learn, as the systems in the real world are not exactly the same as the ships. The Navy and Coast Guard use water cooled condensors for a lot of things that I don't see used in the real world, and I did have to work on low pressure systems, but, I seem to fit in, I guess. If you already went to the HVAC school, I would suggest calling a local AC&R supplier in your area and asking who they know is looking for someone. I found my current job that way. I just went to where the companies buy their refrigerant and asked who was looking for a refrigeration tech. They said (insert name of company that we aren't suppose to mention) was looking, and this was their number. I called them. They asked questions, mostly about troubleshooting. Even though their company doesn't use jumper wires for trouble shooting and they brase the peircing valves in with the system charged as opposed to using the peircing valve to reclaim then sweating in permenant service valves, they felt that we would make a good match. I had to drive with a senior tech for a month, but then things were good. They issued truck and my own tickets etc. If I might be so honest, I had my basic hand tools and a multimeter(not a clamp meter that does temp, either). I got my gages etc after I started. The torch, for instance wouldn't have helpped to get before hand, as the company provides the tank which is an MC. Had I gotten one before, I would have grabbed a B tank torch anyway. Oh, yeah, when I first started out R12 was the primary refrigerant and the EPA didn't require 608 certification.

I started out in a machine shop assembling sensors and controls for drill collars and other expensive but really boring things for the oil field. We were always having mechanical trouble with the shop A/Cs, which were a requirement for handling a lot of the components, but for some reason the company was too cheap to hire a service tech and get the problem sorted out. So, between orders to fill, I started dicking with it, and after many failures and precious few successes, I developed an interest in refrigeration and air conditioning.

After that I spent a few years in the apartment maintenance field learning how not to do things (mostly, I had a few leads who I now realize were honestly excellent techs) and from there moved on to an "apprenticeship" with what may have been the world's fattest A/C contractor. Between bouts of heat exhaustion, I learned a hell of a lot from that man. Mostly I learned that the books I'd been reading weren't enough to really prepare me for the job, and that Doolin's doesn't say anything about brown recluse bites.

Originally Posted by HeyBob

I was a slave for my Father and Grand Father.

I was always instructed that this is what I was going to do for a living!

LOL, love it

I went to vo-tech to be an electricain. At the time they didn't have an HVAC program so they kinda thru in the basics in the electrician class. Got my Journeyman electrician, and EPA. Went to work back home for a HVAC company and picked up most of the trade from the boss. I get to do almost everything. Service, Installs, refrigeration, ice machines, gas piping, and we do a majority of our own electrical work. I've been there 12 years now and am now NATE certified. Its always been just the boss and me with some occasional helpers. We cover about 100 miles around our shop so we are always busy year round. This year we just hired a Tech out of school to help us. The boss is getting close to retiring and I will probably be buying the business. I think everyone has their own unique story of how they got started. I think if you can at least get in as a helper and catch on quick its a good industry to be in and room for advancement.

Darn Lucky

I went to Electronics school, graduated with an associates, and never used it until I got into this field. I worked as a machinist, maintenace tech, and NC programmer at a radiator plant and took HVAC on the side while I was there. I lucked out and met a guy who worked with process chillers in the chemical plants. He taught me to rebuild Centrifugals and screws; 100-2000 tons. I had to learn to work on AC later. I am now a UA member, and try to teach any apprentice that wants to learn, any time I can; because I appreciate how blessed and lucky I was to run into the right people at the right time.

"Work for a college or school district changing air filters. This is where you will learn how to compensate your low wages by stealing all the tools & refrigerant you will need to start your own unlicensed illegal business. Then as you get better at what you do you can become legal."

You PEEKED !!

Originally Posted by HeyBob

I was a slave for my Father and Grand Father.

I was always instructed that this is what I was going to do for a living!

same here, 52 years old with 42 years in the business.


wheres my friggin gold watch.

Work for a college or school district changing air filters. This is where you will learn how to compensate your low wages by stealing all the tools & refrigerant you will need to start your own unlicensed illegal business. Then as you get better at what you do you can become legal.

I started as maintenance for a real estate holding company.
lots of plumbing that i knew backwards, electrical repairs, and a little a/c
had company get me epa test and i practiced on their equipment
earn while you learn.. they kept increasing my responsibilities but not $
applied to best heating and air service company in my market
took a maint position with company running a van
read everything i could get my hands on. still do
continued to earn/learn/wow customers with courtesy
everyone did service on rotation and 6 months in i was service full time
customer service can lack in this business and employers really appreciate it the ability to sell units as opposed to making costly repairs dont hurt
around here +10 yrs old is usually not worth comp, coil, etc 1200
if you have good rapport with people it can really make a difference.
good luck
I LOVE THIS TRADE

i was lucky and started in a saturated market (saturated with tech grads)

i went to trade school in California and i got hired for an apprenticeship in Nevada, partly because the company wasn't happy with the techs from the local trade schools.

the last 5 years was hell but now i qualify for a contractor's licence

I started at G&SMetal in kannapolis nc when I was 20 as aresi/commercial duct install helper moved to soely commercial and went from there to the commercial piping/electrical crew then left and went to service at another company.During the time at the first hvac co. I was layed off and left on my own twice then went back. At first the original owner was a Great man and he took care of his employees and had patience and heart and at the time it was the place to be, best money and quality work. It was ALL metal ALL the time! Everyone in town new you were the best and you were proud to work there. Then Jack decided to sell and pursue other interests(rebuilding and flying vintage aircraft) and since the quality and business as a whole has gone down.I add this because when I was ready for service the new ownership liked someone else more and passed me over so I left for good(under amicable conditions) was even told they hated loosing me and could come back in the future, and still have a few friends there. But went to other co. that I worked for during layoff and was doing commercial installs and one day they sent me on a service call on my way in and come to find out it was a simple test, 1 bedroom wasnt cooling and airflow was ok so I said install transfer duct or undercut door and since that day Ive been a service tech. Started learning via Nextell at the time new technology.If I got stumped the owner was smart enough to be able to tell me exactly what was wrong and how to fix it and with accounts like charlotte motor speedway and cabarrus couthouse and jail I was fortunate to get some great hands on learning from one of the smartest men I have met in this trade. That co. is no longer but the knowlage and experiance are still in this old brain, somewhere.....I hope

Originally Posted by cdzcandp

One observation though. Not everyone has trouble-shooting and mechanical aptitude. I have found that I could help hone these skills if someone had them. No amount of training will instill these aptitudes if you don't have them.

I agree completely. You have to start from somewhere and having the talent and aptitude for mechanical and electrical systems makes the difference between an excellent technician and someone who just gets buy.

Lets face it, everyone has different talents and not everyone is skilled at reading and comprehending wiring diagrams or understanding the refrigeration process and heat transfer and troubleshooting both.

For some people this comes with practice and experience. With others they just never really get it. It's no fault of there own, they just don't have the talent for it.

I started out in '73 taking a HVACR technical class in high school. Repaired nuke subs and ran an a/c shop while in the Navy. When I got out I got hired as a helper. The very first day their service department was swamped so the service manager sent me on service calls in his truck. I've been doing some form of service ever since. I fought my way into controls when it was fresh and new and controls guys wouldn't help you at all. There was no internet (just good old bbs' ing) so you learned the old fashioned way. You got a computer (which was rare in those days), old broken controllers, every piece of software you could get your grubby little paws on, every tech manual you could get, and you spent as many hours as you could playing and learning.

The biggest suggestion that I could make for anyone in this field is study, study, study, and practice, practice, practice. Get yourself an old condensing unit, some old copper, old parts, whatever. Braze 'em, burn 'em, wire 'em, test 'em. Learn on these piles of crap in your own back yard or garage. You won't have a roasting customer depending on your expertise so who cares. Blow a few breakers, god knows we all have, us old-timers just do it less because we've blown 'em before and remember what did it. Making mistakes is part of the learning process and is sometimes the easiest to remember. Just use as much time as you can learning your craft and you'll go far.

One observation though. Not everyone has trouble-shooting and mechanical aptitude. I have found that I could help hone these skills if someone had them. No amount of training will instill these aptitudes if you don't have them. I would tell you to go into sales but frankly, as a service engineer, I would have far less work. Just kidding.

After I graduated high school in 1990 I went down to the local union hall and got hired as a helper/pre-apprentice for a whopping $5.25/hour. The company that hired me needed someone to drive their chiller mechanic around because he lost his drivers license to a DUI.

The guy was an angry bitter jerk and didn't teach me anything except how to go get him his tools out of the truck. That lasted a year and then he got his license back and I was let go.

Went back down to the union hall and they sent me to work for this residential/light commercial company. While there I became an apprentice and went to school at the local union apprenticeship program. I worked there for 4 years and went to school for 2 nights a week. This is where I learned how to be an A/C service tech. I did everything from split/package unit installs to duct repair/installs to refrigeration and ice machines.

I then got hired at Carrier to work on chillers and I finished my 5th year of apprenticeship there. Worked for Carrier for 5 years, then got hired at Trane.

So here I am, thrilled to be working for the best manufacturer on the planet. Thank you to all the journeyman who helped along the way, and thanks to the union school that gave me my foundation of good knowledge.

I think, more important than how you start is what you learn after you start. I found this forum because I wanted to know as much as I could about my field. I wanted to find the best in my field and learn from them. That is how I learned as much as I know at this point and hope to learn more.