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New to forum, new to HVAC field.
Im from Louisiana and have been in the IT (computer) field for about 20 years. I have enjoyed the work, it's been a great experience. I love the field and the technology growth. Recently though I decided, after spending most of my days at a desk, I wanted to move into another field where I could be more "active" . I just turned 55 years old this summer and I'm in great shape for my age with no health issues. I realize I am fortunate in this....
HVAC has been of much interest to me for some time now and I would really love some input on the trade. I don't mind getting my hands dirty and I love being active....I've looked at controls, commercial, residential and I have a few questions.
Is it really a young mans trade. Would it be wise to get into the trade at 55? (its better than sitting on the couch for me)
I've heard commercial is the way to go. Is this true?
Is union work the best avenue?
Im also looking trade school. Is this the best route? Or is there other avenues?
What would you do in my shoes?
Also...what will I start out making out of trade school?
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With your experience without a doubt the best direction to go is commercial controls. You should also take an HVAC course to get a better understanding of what you are trying to accomplish.
No man can be both ignorant and free.
Thomas Jefferson
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you're never too old ! You might find enrolling yourself in an HVAC program at a local college to be beneficial. When potential employers see that you had enough interest to take that onus upon yourself it shows some of them that you are truly committed. The commercial controls and networking side would be right up your alley. It is a very rewarding career with every passing day and never a dull moment!
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might be getting to that age where its not easy to crawl around under houses , but then again it might keep you young
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Sure "you're never too old", but getting hired by somebody in the real world might be tough. I went to tech school with a guy who was around that age. Towards the end of the program we found that the pipefitters union was holding interviews, so a handful of us went over there to get interviewed. One of the questions they asked was "where do you see yourself in 10 years". His answer was "hopefully retired and on a beach somewhere".
They then told him "thank you for your time, but I don't believe you're what we're looking for". He was pissed and ready to sue for age discrimination. This guy graduated from the HVAC program with good grades, but I'm not sure that he ever found a job afterwords.
The reality is that at that age, you are getting right near the end of your working career, and that might not look so good to a prospective employer who will no doubt have to invest a bunch of time and money in order to get you up to speed.
With that being said, if you have a strong computer background you might be able to slide into building automation without much trouble. Also, since I think it's actually illegal for a prospective employer to directly ask for your age, you might be able to fool them and sneak on by. Just try to think of a better answer for when they ask where you see yourself in 10 years. Good luck!
If at First You Don't Succeed, Skydiving Is Not for You.
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Seeing how most training takes the better part of 5 years just to have basic ability's well thats up to you. I agree, with the IT background commercial controls, building automation is something to look into.
https://new.siemens.com/global/en/company/jobs.html
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I am closer to 70 than 65... and while I no longer do the 60-70 hour weeks...
I still work over 40/week and do well in the business.
Residential is the easy way... if you can deal with crawl spaces and attics (get yourself an install crew for system changes)...
Residential service is not that hard, and pays well if you own the company.
The residential market is full of hacks and sales techs (folks that see every problem as an excuse to sell a new system and get a spiff)...
So an honest tech that knows his stuff... is valuable and as such an easy self employed gig.
Building your customer base will take about a year... then it is your business and career to enjoy!
GA-HVAC-Tech
Your comfort, Your way, Everyday!
GA's basic rules of home heating and AC upgrades:
*Installation is more important than the brand of equipment
*The duct system keeps the house comfortable; the equipment only heats and cools (and dehumidifies)
*The value of comfort, over the long term; leave economic choices behind!
Choose your contractor wisely!
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As another option work in house as an example at a hospital, university, Large complex Etc. those larger units usually have a facility department consisting of electricians, plumbers, HVAC personal, typically better benefit package, less stress, easier on the body, get home from work more normal times. I’m sure they have automated logic systems and control work, besides the usual type of HVAC work.
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ammoniadog the applicant brought up age not the union. When ask where he expected to be in 10 years he should have said at the top of my game not retired. He gave them several outs with no liability.
I like post #8 because you can probably land a job like that with IT skills and a course in control technology. You would have experienced people in other fields to assist you that you can learn from.
No man can be both ignorant and free.
Thomas Jefferson
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Originally Posted by
WAYNE3298
ammoniadog the applicant brought up age not the union. When ask where he expected to be in 10 years he should have said at the top of my game not retired. He gave them several outs with no liability.
I like post #8 because you can probably land a job like that with IT skills and a course in control technology. You would have experienced people in other fields to assist you that you can learn from.
Although we've had a couple people 50+ enroll, and go on to become HVAC Journeymen in our 5 year program, (and I would agree that Building Automation might be a good fit for your background), I think a better direction might be as Wayne and others have already suggested.
Starting out, you likely won't earn a very large paycheck, but starting a new career working at a hospital, university, or other large complex Etc., might be what you should be looking in to.
Keep in mind that it usually takes a good Tech a year or so to start to get a grip on Controls .....but..... You already have the computer skills, networking, etc.. That's a good start, but there is a whole lot more that you'll need to learn. One of the most important next steps is to learn is systems, and how they're supposed operate.
The beauty of this plan is that on your new job, you'll get hands on experience, and if you attend evening classes in HVAC/ACHR at your local Jr. College, you can earn your Certificate, then your Associates, and if your new employer is worth a grain of salt, (and you show promise), they can very easily enroll you in Factory Training classes specific to the equipment in your facility. Johnson Controls, Trane, Honeywell, Siemens, and several others all offer customer training programs that are worth their weight in gold for the knowledge that you'll walk away with.
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Originally Posted by
ga-hvac-tech
I am closer to 70 than 65... and while I no longer do the 60-70 hour weeks...
I still work over 40/week and do well in the business.
Residential is the easy way... if you can deal with crawl spaces and attics (get yourself an install crew for system changes)...
Residential service is not that hard, and pays well if you own the company.
The residential market is full of hacks and sales techs (folks that see every problem as an excuse to sell a new system and get a spiff)...
So an honest tech that knows his stuff... is valuable and as such an easy self employed gig.
Building your customer base will take about a year... then it is your business and career to enjoy!
Whats the pay like starting out for someone just out of trade school?
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Whats the pay like starting out for someone just out of trade school?
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GA-HVAC-Tech
Your comfort, Your way, Everyday!
GA's basic rules of home heating and AC upgrades:
*Installation is more important than the brand of equipment
*The duct system keeps the house comfortable; the equipment only heats and cools (and dehumidifies)
*The value of comfort, over the long term; leave economic choices behind!
Choose your contractor wisely!
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Originally Posted by
ga-hvac-tech
I was talking about running your own business...
And you will need years of experience before you can do that...
IMO one should focus on doing a quality job... and the $$$ will follow.
Starting out (knowing nothing)... and worrying about $$$...
Well... why should a shop pay you big bucks... when you do not know what you are doing???
Not busting your balls... just being real...
Now to answer your question...
A co owner that knows their stuff and has a good customer base can make into 6 figures per year...
If they both know HVAC AND can run a business...
Do not expect this for many years... you will have to build your business and clientel...
Thanks for the advice! Means alot!
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Originally Posted by
Bryandrew
Whats the pay like starting out for someone just out of trade school?
If it's your intention to work for someone else, what specific trade, what trade school, what market, (local, regional, national, international)? Residential, commercial? Small mom and pop, large corporate? Union, non-union?
What was the quality of your education, and how much did you learn? Can you demonstrate your knowledge and skills? How well do you interview? Are you willing to relocate?
In general, starting out, could be low teens to high twenties, or anything in between, or more, or less. Might include insurance, pension, 401K, vacation, personal, and sick days. Might not.
We start our first year Techs (commercial/industrial) at low/mid teens with full benefits. Five years later, after they have learned, and have demonstrated their knowledge and abilities, they earn substantially more. It's not uncommon for some of our seasoned guys to pull down 6 figures, or more, in our medium sized market area. Many others earn less.
I know there's no straight answer here, but you asked a very difficult question.
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Originally Posted by
Bryandrew
Whats the pay like starting out for someone just out of trade school?
Around here it's about $18/h. I'm going to go against the majority here and not recommend it as something to pick up at 55. Sure you might luck out and manage to land one of those dream jobs in controls but it's more likely you are going to end up like everyone else lugging heavy equipment up and down the stairs, climbing ladders, and chipping out concrete entry level for HVAC is like any other trade and it is all grunt work. The trade schools and even unions like to promote HVAC as being another tech career with building automation and things like that but I'm still going home with dirty hands and smelling like oil every day. If I were working in IT at 55 I'd run out the clock with that.
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My advice would be to go find a union company willing to hire you because then you will be working and sent to trade school.
Taking some HVAC program and then going to try and get a job is likely not going to work out well at your age.
But you will be likely taking a huge pay cut for the first few years....can you afford the hit?
Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
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More from Louisiana
I could handle not making alot for four or five years. I was just looking for something consistent and started reading about HVAC careers. I use to enjoy IT when they had me out in the field running line, crawling in attic spaces, setting up servers, etc... Work got slow and in order to keep me I was put on the bench repairing computers, taking service calls when they were overloaded. They're were more qualified people to hire me at my second stint of employment. (13 years in Commercial IT then about four years at my second job) but they liked my personality and work ethic...just not alot of work. In the IT field the jobs are being gobbled up by companies, some out of country (They like to make you think there hiring U.S. workers but those slots are for the Bachelors and Masters degrees. A majority of the rest is outsourced to India and other third world countries. Locally you'll top out oat $15 an hour if your lucky. Maybe a little more if you become a manager or owner. I've been hit twice now by hurricanes in the past two months and all I see is blue-collar work being done while I sit at home. I don't want to retire and sit on the couch for the rest of my life. I like working and if I can find something my skillset can somewhat transfer over to I want to give it a shot. Regardless it seems like a field where there is consistent work and your challenged on a daily basis and (hopefully it seems like) you're not sitting at home. I REALLY appreciate all the input...especially the tough stuff!!! Keep it coming!
Again, Im from Louisiana and am considering moving if necessary. I signed up for school after doing alot of research.
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I was about your age Bryan when I left design engineering and got onto TAB. I was in good physical shape and still am and could do everything that needed done. The first thing you have to do is take a good look at yourself and know without any doubt whatsoever that you can do what you want. From there it's easy because if you know you can do it all you have to do is do it. You aren't going to want to crawl around in every kind of space forever so why start there? You have enough experience to handle portions of control work without doing that stuff.
I suggested commercial controls in a facility because you can learn from others while you earn. You need to learn as fast as you can and the best way to do that is to work with people that can help you pinpoint what needs done. I worked with a lot of control techs that were good at what they did but even those guys without my input at times were lost as to what actually needed done to make a system work it's best.
No man can be both ignorant and free.
Thomas Jefferson
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Originally Posted by
WAYNE3298
I was about your age Bryan when I left design engineering and got onto TAB. I was in good physical shape and still am and could do everything that needed done. The first thing you have to do is take a good look at yourself and know without any doubt whatsoever that you can do what you want. From there it's easy because if you know you can do it all you have to do is do it. You aren't going to want to crawl around in every kind of space forever so why start there? You have enough experience to handle portions of control work without doing that stuff.
I suggested commercial controls in a facility because you can learn from others while you earn. You need to learn as fast as you can and the best way to do that is to work with people that can help you pinpoint what needs done. I worked with a lot of control techs that were good at what they did but even those guys without my input at times were lost as to what actually needed done to make a system work it's best.
How does one get in to Commercial Controls from my position. Do I just go apply at a place or do I continue on the track of going to the HVAC training I signed up for (its 14 weeks). Maybe you can give me some more advice on how to proceed from here? You guys have been a treasure chest of wisdom!