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Question about HVAC careers- Virginia
Hello everyone,
I am currently a school counselor and I work 10 months a year. However, I come from a blue collar family (did drywall, decks, landscaping with my dad) and I would like to learn HVAC as a trade.
I am planning to take some classes (1 year- about 448 hours total classroom and lab) at my local community college. Ideally I would work on the afternoons (after 3pm) or weekends, and definitely the summers full time.
I want to know if you all think this would be a feasible schedule? Would someone hire a part time entry level technician with a mainly-weekends schedule, at least until the summer?
Any other advice would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
P.S. I live in Northern Virginia
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Well, looks all I hear are crickets, so may I be first. I'm not sure in Virginia, the union stuff, if that applies or not, there may be regulations
regarding that. First though, A/C work is hard, hot work, but sounds like you're familiar with that. I would think that you could probably find some stuff on weekends maybe, not sure about evenings, just not sure. But if you want to take classes and try it I'd say go for it. Everyone on here it seems has a lot of different skills, and you never know just exactly which one you might need on the next job. What most do is start with installations / rough ins and take classes along the way, I took 3 classes, went to apt maintenance, then an A/C company doing service, then later got my contractor license, while taking seminars, classes all along the way, still do more or less after 30 years. The learning never stops, and if you want it, don't overthink it, just go for it, just takes one step to get going. Good luck !
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Originally Posted by
chrlycan
Hello everyone,
I am currently a school counselor and I work 10 months a year. However, I come from a blue collar family (did drywall, decks, landscaping with my dad) and I would like to learn HVAC as a trade.
I am planning to take some classes (1 year- about 448 hours total classroom and lab) at my local community college. Ideally I would work on the afternoons (after 3pm) or weekends, and definitely the summers full time.
I want to know if you all think this would be a feasible schedule? Would someone hire a part time entry level technician with a mainly-weekends schedule, at least until the summer?
Any other advice would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
P.S. I live in Northern Virginia
Hello, and Welcome to H-Talk! Before i attempt to give you my advice, let me ask you this: How old are You? Do You have any Mechanical Electrical Skills/Experience? What is the name of the School You Plan to Take Classes at? What are the Class Titles?
Take Care,
LZ...
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Usually weekends are reserved for on-call and emergency service, so I don’t think anyone is going to want to be training a greenhorn when it’s crunch time.
I took a similar path as you, except in my last semester I took night classes and landed a job as an apprentice. Get some classroom time under your belt, get your EPA license, then start knocking on doors when you have time to fully commit to an 8-5 job.
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Hi, This is my first reply to a post so yay me! I am currently a Program Director for the Industrial Systems Technologies Program at a local community college in NC, I have been in the trades for the last 30+ years and have done all sorts of facilities maintenance and industrial maintenance, as well as HVAC service and repair, and installs. I am currently in the process of getting my NC Contractors License for HVAC (H-3's) if I am not mistaken. So...let me start by saying this. If you only plan to take a class here and there, or one class a semester you wont make it. Sorry to sound like such a downer, but- if this is something that you REALLY want to do, then it take commitment and hard work. Take as many classes as you can as soon as you can and learn as much as you can. There is nothing better than hands on experience and there is nothing better than working on equipment that belongs to someone else (a school). Get your EPA's as soon as possible, and get in a classroom. I flunk guys everyday, because they "Think" they want to do this, they pay good money for a class, and they show up three times and then lay out so much that I have to drop them. They are Luke warm students. They will probably never amount to anything more than a guy that took a class. Its sad really. Then I have several guys who are RED HOT about it, and they will be rock stars one day. And honestly, none of this is hard if you apply yourself.
I had a student tell me once that "C's" get degrees, and he taught me a valuable lesson. Anyone who can make a C will get a degree. It doesnt matter if he knows what he is doing or not, but he made enough C's that he passed the class and got a degree. Now you and I know that an attitude like that will probably get him hurt or killed later on if he isn't real careful, but hey he passed the class! This is a wonderful career choice, and I have had a GREAT career. I have worked all over the USA, and I have made a TON of money. So yeah, if you are committed, you can do great things. If you are just LUKE warm... don't do it.
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I've been working in the field for about 5 years now. I went the school route and I definitely would recommend it. I've mentored several apprentices who came in straight from high school with only a brief introduction to HVAC. They are solid guys but they really struggle with the fundamentals like electricity, interpreting wiring diagrams, and how air conditioners work. While there is a lot which can be picked up on the job, particularly when it comes to installations, there is no substitute (in my opinion) for taking a course.
My school had two streams, a two year course and an optional third year, which I took. The two year option would have definitely given me enough to start out with, but the third year has been invaluable and has really put me out ahead. In the third year I covered light commercial heat load and duct design calculations, hydronics (which I do a ton of now), intro to building automation (this course was amazing), as well as intro to accounting, construction law, and project estimating.
I continually draw on what I learned in school and can't imagine how I'd be fairing if I had just jumped in without formal HVAC training.
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Originally Posted by
Michah123
I've been working in the field for about 5 years now. I went the school route and I definitely would recommend it. I've mentored several apprentices who came in straight from high school with only a brief introduction to HVAC. They are solid guys but they really struggle with the fundamentals like electricity, interpreting wiring diagrams, and how air conditioners work. While there is a lot which can be picked up on the job, particularly when it comes to installations, there is no substitute (in my opinion) for taking a course.
My school had two streams, a two year course and an optional third year, which I took. The two year option would have definitely given me enough to start out with, but the third year has been invaluable and has really put me out ahead. In the third year I covered light commercial heat load and duct design calculations, hydronics (which I do a ton of now), intro to building automation (this course was amazing), as well as intro to accounting, construction law, and project estimating.
I continually draw on what I learned in school and can't imagine how I'd be fairing if I had just jumped in without formal HVAC training.
Very Nice Write-up! Welcome to H-Talk.
LZ...
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What do you call the guy who graduated last in his medical school class?
Doctor....
Originally Posted by
Southernkilowat
Hi, This is my first reply to a post so yay me!
I am currently a Program Director for the Industrial Systems Technologies Program at a local community college in NC, I have been in the trades for the last 30+ years and have done all sorts of facilities maintenance and industrial maintenance, as well as HVAC service and repair, and installs. I am currently in the process of getting my NC Contractors License for HVAC (H-3's) if I am not mistaken. So...let me start by saying this. If you only plan to take a class here and there, or one class a semester you wont make it. Sorry to sound like such a downer, but- if this is something that you REALLY want to do, then it take commitment and hard work. Take as many classes as you can as soon as you can and learn as much as you can. There is nothing better than hands on experience and there is nothing better than working on equipment that belongs to someone else (a school). Get your EPA's as soon as possible, and get in a classroom. I flunk guys everyday, because they "Think" they want to do this, they pay good money for a class, and they show up three times and then lay out so much that I have to drop them. They are Luke warm students. They will probably never amount to anything more than a guy that took a class. Its sad really. Then I have several guys who are RED HOT about it, and they will be rock stars one day. And honestly, none of this is hard if you apply yourself.
I had a student tell me once that "C's" get degrees, and he taught me a valuable lesson. Anyone who can make a C will get a degree. It doesnt matter if he knows what he is doing or not, but he made enough C's that he passed the class and got a degree. Now you and I know that an attitude like that will probably get him hurt or killed later on if he isn't real careful, but hey he passed the class! This is a wonderful career choice, and I have had a GREAT career. I have worked all over the USA, and I have made a TON of money. So yeah, if you are committed, you can do great things. If you are just LUKE warm... don't do it.
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If you really want to learn then go for it. Learning from a Class/Book/Teacher is one thing, using and applying that knowledge in the field is a big other story. I say, even if you settle for a small Mom/Pop Shop, learning is learning, applying is applying. Welcome!