what constitues a "control guy"

[Bugster]

Hvac wiz 79,
Believe it or not, you have an advantage. After the Navy, I have worked as a pipe fitter, tin worker, HVAC tech (residential, commercial, and industrial), plumber, electronics tech, BAS tech and designer to present. I have assisted other HVAC personnel not to cross over, but converge into BAS tech/designer. You probably already understand electronics, but now get on the computer and learn your way through the digital world. As you can tell; I like to see HVAC personnel willing to learn a new field. Contact any major controls company and find a mentor or just be willing to take on a shadow. Don't be afraid of technology; embrace it and find the opportunity to use current knowledge.

[skwsproul]

I will no longer tell the MC what their problem is only that is is NOT a controls problem. They have a habit of using the TC guy to do their mechanical troubleshooting/diagnostic work for them. In the last few years the MC's only have a few real Techs and they keep them on the big problems not Bid-Spec jobs. Just sayin' !

MC's and GC's have no idea how busy the "controls guy" is, nor do they care. Usually the "controls guy" is more capable than any of the MC technicians to troubleshoot any problems. MC's tend to use "installers" and while they may be skilled and knowledgeable installers, they usually do not have experience in trouble shooting or service. That being said, I have learned as you have that on a project like this I test to see if my end is working properly and if it is i simply tell them "I'm calling for it but its not running, we will need to get contractor x to check it out".

It gets real fun when we are the MC as well.

[Knife Switch]

There are some awesome relies on here, I found myself saying "Hell Yeah!" alot. Definitely being blamed for every problem until you can prove otherwise (Hence my signature).

To be good at controls, you really do need to find it interesting, then you'll find yourself on here, and other places on the internet in your own time, seeing what's out there.

You'll also eventually go a bit mad. All the good guys @ controls I know are either a little bit or a lot mad. One end of the spectrum is the chaotic guy, the other end is the hyper organized guy. Both are equally nuts, but don't be too quick to judge anyone you meet like this, they all have valuable things to teach you.

The most enjoyable part of it is the feeling of being across the whole building, all of the systems. You don't have to answer to many people on site (apart from who you'd exect), and they can't micro manage you because they can't see or understand what you're doing.