Any good ideas on what to after tech school

[goodfella]

Would it be a good idea to go from tech school to maybe a college to further increase my capabilities in this field? If so any good ideas? thanks in advanced.

[R12rules]

Book learnin' ain't worth squat without hands on training! Not unless your some kind of genius/ "Boy Wonder"!

It's just a long tough road and there are plenty of potholes along the path!
But once you start moving down that road ... you probably wont wish to ever turn back.

Get out there in the field where you'll begin getting your hands dirty and your brain fried!

If you've been subjecting yourself to classroom/ lab sessions, then it's about time to get on out there and see how well you absorbed/ retained what was taught to you.
It's like having muscles. Unless you exercise them, they go bad.
And "hands-on in the field" is THE BEST method for learning this industry!

[goodfella]

Yeah, i understand that. It just seems like ive heard about people going to tech school for one subject then afterwards going to another school for something else that when they are done they have a combination of hvac and something else which can get them a better job. not sure if you get what im trying to say, but if you do i was just wondering if there are any good combinations out there.

Also, we have the option of going into ammonia or getting started on our internship at PTI for the last 3 months of our fourth section. any good ideas on why I should go into ammonia or should i just forget about it cause the chances are slim that i will ever even work with it. are there any well paying jobs out there that need people with experience in ammonia?

[Diceman]

Yeah, go get a job.

[goodfella]

When you say go get a job are you referring to my question about ammonia or going to college afterwards.. or both? and if you could explain why, thatd be great. thanks

[Ammonianite]

The ammonia does open the doors to some higher paying employment opportunities; especially if you are certified
through RETA (Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association). There are always people looking for ammonia technicians and "ammonia refrigeration supervisors".

However, ammonia work is not without its dangers. I've
worked with it for about ten years in the past, both as a technician and a "refrigeration supervisor" and been through
many leak situations, including some "clouds". Scary and stressful.

Now that I'm back into regular service work, I only have to deal with a few ammonia accounts- a lot less stress.

Don't get me wrong, ammonia refrigeration is fine work if it is done properly and the right equipment is provided.
Unfortunately, most of the places that I have worked pretty much skimped on equipment, safety, and training. But there are some good companies out there, you just have to do your homework.

[goodfella]

Yeah, i think I am leaning more towards just gettin out there and starting my internship. I have a little over a year and a half to go though, so if any oppurtunities come up with ammonia I could change my mind.

[spotts]

and I'll sell my biz. Lets buy a boat, move to CanCun and take fisherwomen and diver girls out to sea. That would be a better life than HVAC.

[Green Mountain]

Originally posted by spotts
and I'll sell my biz. Lets buy a boat, move to CanCun and take fisherwomen and diver girls out to sea. That would be a better life than HVAC.

Do you need a senior citizen in that prono movie??

[Green Mountain]

Seriously, goody, what do YOU want to do? You got to answer that first.

If I was just starting out I would make sure that I had an Associates Degree in HVAC if I were going to spend 2 years on a higher education and I wanted to get into the industry.

With an associates degree you can go any direction once you get out of school and you can command a decent starting wage.

[spotts]

Originally posted by benncool

Originally posted by spotts
and I'll sell my biz. Lets buy a boat, move to CanCun and take fisherwomen and diver girls out to sea. That would be a better life than HVAC.

Do you need a senior citizen in that prono movie??

I'll be contacting you about that. No movie really, I'd only count the girls and the bikini's........ while counting their men's money. It's my fantasy future.

[Edited by spotts on 11-04-2004 at 07:03 PM]

[hvacbear]

Originally posted by benncool
Seriously, goody, what do YOU want to do? You got to answer that first.

If I was just starting out I would make sure that I had an Associates Degree in HVAC if I were going to spend 2 years on a higher education and I wanted to get into the industry.

With an associates degree you can go any direction once you get out of school and you can command a decent starting wage.

Good idea.

[goodfella]

Well, I wanna figure out the best possible way to about this industry. As of now my plans are to finish my 2 year tech school and find a job to do my internship. I really need a little more time in school to figure out what I would like to do.. as far as commercial or residential. I had a post in my other thread in Job discussions saying getting a mechanical engineering degree and a PI degree would be good (night classes). any opinions on that?

[hvacbear]

Check this out.

http://www.ferris.edu/ucel/programs/hvacr.htm

[NormChris]

Originally posted by goodfella
Well, I wanna figure out the best possible way to about this industry. As of now my plans are to finish my 2 year tech school and find a job to do my internship. I really need a little more time in school to figure out what I would like to do.. as far as commercial or residential. I had a post in my other thread in Job discussions saying getting a mechanical engineering degree and a PI degree would be good (night classes). any opinions on that?

So you don't sound like a dope get this much right. It is not a PI degree and it is not a degree at all. Here is how it works.

After earning a degree in mechanical engineering then getting a few years of experience a degreed mechanical engineer can take the PE (Professional Engineer) exam. First the mechanical engineer must work under a PE.

The PE exam is actually a state license allowing the engineer to sell his or her design services as an engineer. An engineer must have a PE not PI license in that state in order to personally sell engineering design services. Otherwise, the engineer will have to work for someone who is a licensed PE. There are a few exceptions such as working directly for a manufacturer.

Each state uses basically the same PE exams as established by a national agreement between states. However, a PE licensed in one state cannot perform the same services in another state without becoming licensed in that state as well.

Just get it straight that it is PE not PI and it is not a degree it is a state license that is earned after earning an engineering degree.

Norm

[duc dowg]

i have only had one helper that went to school that worked out tech schools fill u with bull most instructors only know the book side There is an instructor at tri county tech in sc that came to work for a co that didnt know what was going on at all

[NormChris]

Originally posted by duc dowg
i have only had one helper that went to school that worked out tech schools fill u with bull most instructors only know the book side There is an instructor at tri county tech in sc that came to work for a co that didnt know what was going on at all

Sad to say but you are right. I was the lead instructor and director of an HVAC college program for many years and did the hiring of all new fulltime and part time instructors.

Most applicants for a teaching position were totally unqualified to teach and were not hired. Many schools use the administrators to do the hiring and they have no idea how to select a qualified HVAC instructor.

All instructors should be required to work in the field every summer as I did. It changed my classroom instruction a great deal as I brought regular experience and new practical knowledge back to the classroom.

[Chad711]

Originally posted by spotts
and I'll sell my biz. Lets buy a boat, move to CanCun and take fisherwomen and diver girls out to sea. That would be a better life than HVAC.

Hmmmm I do have a boat, but its only a 16'er. Sounds like the life though!

[cctrol]

Originally posted by Diceman
Yeah, go get a job.

Bad advice!
Those job thingies take up alot of potential "leisure time"!


Of course, they do pay the bills, and build real world experience!

[hvacbear]

The basics I learned in school were invaluable.
Without a healthy dose initiative though they are useless.

I have had several apprentices that came from the same school some are very good some are disappointing at best. . It seems like they think they can stop learning after school which only provides you with the fundamentals.

I think that the ones who do not go to school have to really try to learn and cannot rely on the past.

The really good ones realize that school just scratched the surface and dive in full force learning every day.

Also get some hands on before you become an engineer you will not regret it.