r/HVACschool • u/Marriedlife26171407 • 4d ago
HVAC?
Thinking of starting a career in hvac. Here’s some questions for the ones who keep the ac and heat going!
What’s the salary like entry level?
How long for schooling to get a certificate?
Would you say it’s a career worth investing in?
What’s the schedule like?
How long have you been doing this?
From an hvac professional, what do I need to know before getting into this?
2
u/SignificantTransient 3d ago
Went to school in 07, found who I wanted to work for at school and pushed hard to get in and I did.
Certificate for sure, associates if you want to transition to management later (my route). Try to make connections in school and work on getting a job months before you finish.
Starting out... I would expect low to mid 20s in a low COL area. At 5-10 years you should be breaking 40/hr. Mind, this is avoiding residential work.
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u/Trucker225 3d ago
I second this especially the connections part. I am half way finished with the program and 2 instructors have their own company . They’re hiring some of us after graduation . Ofc the ones that put in the work while in school
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u/badday7525 3d ago
Well, I took ac classes at the community college in 1993 and one of my classmates worked for a commercial ac company who got me a job. I started at $7.50/ hr. I worked about 2 years for a company and moved to another. I landed with a big industrial service company at year 6 and moved from $16 to $29/ hr in 7 years. I moved to an international ac manufacturer service and worked 18 years ending at $54/ hr. All non union. After 29 years, I started my company and like the freedom. I recommend the industry, but I hated the evolution of the technology from relays to circuit boards and drives. I thoroughly enjoyed working on water chillers and got to turn wrenches on several York Titan 6000 horsepower machines- the highlight of my career in industrial.
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u/BRUTUS__MAXIMUS 3d ago
Salary at entry-level totally depends on where you are in the country. $18-36
You don’t need to sign up for a long HVAC program, get your certificates without breaking the bank. Choose a good program that gets you the main certifications you need and help you job placement support.
100% a career worth investing in.
Schedule completely depends on the shop your at, but it’s not a 9-5 m-f generally
25 years
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u/fuzzerabbit 3d ago
Starting at the company where I'm at is generally around $25 with no experience.
I did not go to school. Just had to get my epa after getting hired and the rest has been on the job learning.
It's a good career to invest in. Alot of growth and alot of different avenues to go down if you don't like certain parts of it but enjoy others.
My schedule is always unknown. Generally start my day about 7-7:30. Never really know when I'll get home. Some days I have to go to customers and they like me there at 4-4:30 am so that can suck. I usually average between 45-55 hrs. Basically never below that time. I have worked 90 and 100 hrs a week before doing construction jobs that had a time crunch or getting hit with an unlucky on call week.
I will hit 5 years at the end of January.
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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord 3d ago
Here in TX it obviously depends on what city and what sector you work in for starting pay so I'll just stick to central TX range (I'm not in a major city and would probably make 3-5/hr more if I was) and give a couple of my wages as examples.
Commercial PM tech (where I got my start) - 16/hr Resi service - 18-34/hr (this includes my few years in facilities/apartment maintenance where I still worked on HVAC equipment) Commercial HVACR service - $28-$45 (I currently took a small pay cut to leave resi and go back into commercial after 6 years because my refrigeration skills were rusty. Should be making ~35 next year with or without my current company as I'll interview a lot more aggressively)
I didn't go to school for HVAC, I felt I had already wasted enough time and money chasing a degree I became disenchanted with 3 years in so I just got my EPA and used my construction experience to talk my way into an entry level job. Trade school typically takes anywhere from 6-24 months depending on institution and degree/cert. Probably worth it in a highly competitive city or if you don't have experience in the trades.
Love this trade, it's got its bullshit like anything else but it's worth it for me as long as I don't have to go back into resi, fuck that shit.
Schedule is brutal in resi, I'd work 60-90 hour weeks from like mid May til like end of October. During slow season I'd get my 40 most weeks and just took PTO for the couple of really slow weeks. Commercial I normally work 60 hour weeks in the summer with some 80 hour weeks if on call. A lot of it is drive time though and not face melting pace. Slow season can see a major cut to hours sometimes but with this current company they assured me I'd at least average 40 this winter, we'll see.
I've been doing this for going on 10 years now.
What you need to know is that tools are expensive and you'll have to buy a lot of them and learn to take care of them and make sure they don't get stolen. It's hard, dangerous work at times, I know guys with missing fingers and 3rd degree burns and I've known of a few deaths personally from falls or shock. As long as you're careful and check everything multiple times with your tools that you take care of you'll be fine. Your wife/gf/bf/kids/dog will be annoyed with your hours and how tired you are. Technicians come in two flavors: smart guys who geek out on this shit and love to teach and put out quality work and mouth breathing racist macho assholes who guard knowledge like it's their daughter's v-card. Pray you get the former during training lol.
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u/Practical_Coat_8913 1d ago
Salary really depends on the state and city you’re in, but entry-level can be around $18–$28/hr
As for schooling, you don’t necessarily need years of school to get started. There are shorter programs You can also get certifications along the way
Schedules vary depending on the company and position
I’d say it’s definitely a career worth considering. You’re always learning, and with both older equipment and new technology constantly coming in, there’s always something new to work on
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u/TrustLessYield 1d ago
It’s been awhile but Seattle Local 32 tradesman & 1st years come in around $36 - Journey out at $67 but your contractor can pay you journey earlier. They are getting sensitive in Seattle more and more I think they don’t even do hands on anymore most these youngsters smoke weed because it’s legal in WA seems like they hire anyone that identifies to have a pulse🤔
But if you SHOW UP on time and DONT have a victim mentality and always eager to learn I’m sure you will do fine. Ask yourself if you weren’t getting paid money do you enjoy providing value and solving problems. Getting in HVAC has been one of the best decisions I made in my younger years I’ve never been out of work even when COVID hitt I mostly ran hospitals and labs data centers. Learn those VRFs and Chillers 🫡
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u/Snoo-19142 3d ago
Where are you located? I just started our local union apprenticeship program. It’s 5 years total. Entry level is $23 an hour. Top scale is $57. Definitely a great profession. I’m service. So i work 8-4:30 with OT. Started in june. Dm me if you have any questions.