4 Reasons to Become a HVAC Technician
Working in the heating, ventilation, and air-con industry (known as HVAC for short) is a rewarding profession that pays better than many others. It has its own degree required to qualify for a local position. HVAC technicians tend to stay busy throughout the year because in the summertime, they’re needed for new installs and to fix the air-conditioning when it’s down, and in the winter the heating part of the HVAC system is what sometimes goes on the fritz and requires a qualified technician to repair it.
Here are four reasons to become an HVAC technician.
1. Growing Demand & Job Security
Unlike with some other professions in the United States, an HVAC Technician is one that’s growing every year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics believes that the HVAC sector will grow by over 20 percent (2012-2022) at a time when other trades are shrinking.
When you think about the job, you’re required to be on-call to help resolve issues with customers who have a service contract. HVAC technicians are needed to go to the business (or residential home) and get hands on the system. They diagnose, fit new parts, and get the HVAC back up and running again. There is no way to outsource the job to China, so job security is excellent.
2. Not Stuck Behind a Desk
Some people just aren’t cut out to sit behind a desk all day, typing away furiously on a computer to get their job accomplished. Being good with your hands and having excellent attention to detail are also important skills to have. Maybe you’re someone like that, in which case becoming an HVAC technician will likely suit you.
The HVAC profession has jobs from the service technicians right up to the technical consultant, which pay between mid-$40,000’s to low $80,000’s depending on the area of the country and the complexity of the job. There are plenty of opportunities to advance to a more senior position and grow your salary commensurate with it. Learn about the necessary HVAC degree at best-hvactraining.com to find out more specifics about studying to be an HVAC technician.
3. Meeting New People Every Day
Being on-call in the job, you go out regularly to meet customers and handle the issues with their HVAC equipment. Being a “people person” at some level certainly helps, but it’s not necessary to be Mr. or Ms. Outgoing to perform well on the job and secure good customer ratings of your performance. However, if you enjoy meeting new faces, then this is a good way to mix things up, so every day is different.
4. The Work Never Ends
It’s not possible for customers to fix their own HVAC when it develops an annoying rattle, the temperature gauge is no longer working, or it won’t stay cold enough. As such, HVAC technicians stay busy. Most units have a 10-15-year shelf life before they must be replaced with a new model. Therefore, there’s ongoing job security via the new HVAC installations happening all the time, which will then need regular maintenance from thereon.
The job of an HVAC technician and the more senior roles within the HVAC field offer good pay, the need to work through problems and resolve them, and people contact where you’re actively helping them. It’s a rewarding field in more ways than one and well worth considering as a future career.
