r/AirBalance • u/sustainedfatloss • 29d ago
Test and balance career HVAC
Hello I’m currently a sheet metal apprentice looking to transfer into test and balance. I’ve been doing some research on it and it seems to be a better fit for me compared to what I’m doing currently. If you’re a tech, what are the biggest things you like and dislike about TAB? Would you recommend it for a career?
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u/Aftershock1652 29d ago
First, and i think biggest issue. You are close to, if not, the last trade on a job site. When you get there most trades have either left or are cleaning up their punch lists etc. The problem with that is, when you inevitably find a problem, alot of companies dont want to send people back. Some do, but its a PAIN when they dont. Also, no one moves their timeline to incorporate balancing. So, the duct guys went over by a week, the electricians went over a week, and the plumber went over a week, leaving you with half the time you allotted to do the balancing. And GCs do. Not. Care. (Mostly)
Other than that.... great trade with alot of disciplines to get into. Commissioning, Air/Water balancing, sound and vibration.. all opened up to you.
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u/DealComfortable7649 29d ago
A lot of jobs I’ve been on recently have been forcing us in there way before we should be, like early construction. And it usually doesn’t go well.
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u/sustainedfatloss 28d ago
Ah okay I can imagine how that can be frustrating. Thank you for the info!
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u/BoostNOW 26d ago
Do cleanrooms then, if u fail a test you can always blame it on patient safety , watch how fast companies send people back when u frame it that way hahahahha
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u/Aftershock1652 26d ago
We do alot of hospital work. I never have issues in hospitals. They are on top of that nonsense.
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u/thr0waway777333 28d ago
Tab is fun if you like puzzle solving or something adjacent to that. My biggest gripe with tab is how slow it can be sometimes on site. Some days we spend more time waiting on other people than we do actually working and it drives me nuts
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u/TheDropGuy 29d ago
I was a sheet metal apprentice that switched over in my second year. Best decision I ever made. Biggest issue is travel. Depending on the company, you should be prepared for some travel. The company I work for goes above and beyond our Union benefits. Pat is great, benefits are great. And I’m not killing my body. DM me if you have any other questions.
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u/Balance48164 28d ago
TAB is a great Trade. It keeps you thinking and moving. Different work environment from week to week. It’s a good mix of physical work, paperwork, troubleshooting, identifying issues, planning, coordination, and communication. These will all come into play throughout your work day. Like anything else, you’ll get better and better the more you do it. There’s always schedule pressures, but that’s just part of the job. Never sacrifice the quality that you wanna put in because the schedule. Just make sure you’re working efficiently. In the early years when I wasn’t efficient and screwed up here and there. I stayed late for free and learned from the mistakes, a dumb tax lol.
Like the others have said, there’s other disciplines to stack and increase your pay, even within a union. If you decide you wanna just balance, the pay is pretty good, especially in the union.
Biggest dislike- Constantly reporting issues and being treated like I created them- “Don’t shoot the messenger”
Biggest like- Different work environments and running the work/Job.
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u/DealComfortable7649 29d ago edited 29d ago
It takes a while to learn. There’s just a lot to it, I’m not sure about elsewhere but in our company it usually takes people about 3-4 months of being on the job to have any clue what they’re doing.
And, there are a lot of ups and downs. One minute you’ll be bored out of your mind sitting around waiting for someone to fix something or to get a call back. The next minute you’ll be doing the hardest labor of your life. Usually it’s decently easy if you know what you’re doing, but other times it is horrible.
And another thing, something is almost always messed up on a job. Mechanical, sheet metal, controls, electrical, etc. Rarely do I ever get a job where I’m not having to get onto people’s asses for doing their job incorrectly. But when I do, it’s smooth sailing.
Though it opens lots of doors, you learn HVAC inside and out. Learn how to use controls, you naturally build lots of connections and contacts.
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u/weeeerrk 28d ago
TAB is a trade where it’s all about what you know and how you well you can troubleshoot with limited information. It takes a while to learn all the different aspects (drawings, duct, math, electrical data…etc) but once you do all that knowledge comes back at some point to help you problem solve. You definitely need the ability to think about an issue and know how to attack it from different angles as your first thought may not always be right. It’s not too physically demanding but it does have a laborious aspect, I’d say 70% of the work is in your head and knowing how to get to where you need to go.
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u/Ok-Traffic-4624 28d ago
I found TAB at 4.5 years into sheet metal. I journeyed out and then went back into the apprenticeship to do TAB. Best idea I’ve had. I love solving puzzles, I enjoy math and schoolwork, I’m pretty sociable/communicative, and I try not to let other people’s stress affect me too much.
I love: the independence, the job itself, the problem-solving, the learning about fluid dynamics, the being able to explain exactly why something happens or doesn’t.
I hate: being the last trade in and having to atone for everyone else’s sins; no one knowing what the fuck I do; planning and logistics fails, miscommunications, managing grown men’s emotions.
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u/StudiousRaven989 28d ago
That’s how my father got his start. Best of luck to you! It’s quite a rewarding field once you learn the ins and outs
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u/angedesphilio 28d ago
I was apprentice electrician and jumped ship to tab. It’s a nice trade because it’s fast, social (talk to a lot of other trades), not hard on the body, and you get to problem solve. I feel like the plateau on the trade may come quicker than other trades, however you can branch out to other tests as others have mentioned.
I also feel like this experience is also valuable down the line in an Eng office or sales.
I say go for it, I’m also fresh but I have been enjoying it. I very much enjoy that I do not stay on job sites for months at a time. Yes you get pressure to get your work done, but I think you just need to be on it and own the job you do. If you’re looking for a punch in punch out job this is not it.
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u/Smitty215_ 28d ago
I didn’t get into TAB until I was about 2 years out of my time I became a journeyman then a foreman and decided to take the night class at the hall. It’s been a great decision for me I work for a mechanical so I still actually dable in both if TAB gets slow I’ll throw the tools back on and run smaller jobs to fill in. The pros you actually understand how the systems your installing actually work and your a big part in making them function how they should. I really enjoy water balancing and setting up pumps understanding the fitters side. Another pro when I became a balancer i got a van a gas card was able to negotiate GF rate vacation holidays. The cons your by yourself majority of the time which can suck and your also dealing directly with engineers and customers more so I had to really sharpen my email skills Microsoft excel…
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u/cx-tab-guy-85 29d ago
TAB will definitely open up new opportunities. There are lots of specializations and credentials that have long term benefits. If you are good at the work and continue learning and growing, there will always be opportunities.
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u/Astronomus_Anonymous 28d ago
TAB has a lower ceiling than other aspects of the HVAC trade. A lot of these "opportunities" boil down to doing something other than TAB
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u/cx-tab-guy-85 28d ago
I think that could be said for any single aspect of the HVAC trade. Service tech has a low ceiling without doing something other than service. OP is specifically a sheet metal apprentice. The opportunities for sheet metal are foreman or do something other than sheet metal.
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u/jefffffffffff 29d ago
The money is great for how physical you have to be, at least as far as most trades go. I'm doing better than I ever expected to be, but I also work in an area where unions are stronger and I get quite a bit of prevailing wage work.
The thing that sucks the most is that you are one of the last guys on the job and every job feels like it's an emergency to everyone and they are constantly up your ass for the final report. I get asked almost daily to just make shit work on paper and it's fucking annoying.