Which trade school is the best?

[HellGato]

Old threads never die unless deleted..

I not in the NYCs area but I took HVAC as a Major and Management as a Minor in El Paso Community College. I think anyplace that can teach you the basics and some hands-on work on the trade is great.. but the real teacher is the Field.

Good Luck

[numbawunfela]

Hey guys, sorry for opening up this old thread. I'm new here and new to hvac as a whole. I'm really interested in the trade and would like to get into it. I was wondering if anyone knew about NYC's City Tech program for hvac? They have an associates degree and some certs that say on their website that it will prepare you for a job in the industry. Does anyone have any experience with them? Thank you in advance.

I dunno about that one - it has been a while since I spoke to grads of a tech school in NYC. I remember TCI was considered decent - I knew a grad that was pretty good. But I think that was more him, than the school.

Across the river in NJ Lincoln Tech was big. I never met a grad from lincoln tech that was worth anything. The worst part was the grads KNEW they hadn't learned anything and were pretty grumpy about the 15k+ in student debt they carried when they had not much to show for it.

ICE is a standard HVAC tradeschool final exam of sorts, some schools will include siting you down for the NATE exam. If a school will claim to prep you for something like that, and tell you they have a good pass rate, it would be a good indication they will at least try to teach you something.

I hope it helps. I tend to agree that one learns a lot in the field, but it isn't really helpful to someone who is new to the industry to tell them that only, as it creates an impossible barrier to entry (I can't get a job till I know something, but I cannot learn till I am in the field - with a job that I can't get till I know something) I try to say - learning in the field is the best, BUT here is a way to get there. Its a little more helpful IMHO.

I entered the trade with no trade school - It worked well for me, but not everyone is self-motivated or has an aptitude for such things. Just layin that out there as an option for ya. Find a company that will take a chance on you, do your time as a low-paid scrub, study the whole time, and then get yourself a FAT raise when you can demonstrate a little aptitude. I went from 12/hr helper to 35/hr project manager and lead tech in 3.5 years in this way.

Your results may vary.