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Everything You Need to Know About Working as a Refrigeration and HVAC Technician

HVAC technicianIf you’re someone who loves working with their hands to solve a problem, you may want to think about becoming a refrigeration and HVAC technician.

In this role, individuals and businesses will rely on your unique skill set to ensure these machines are able to perform the way they were designed, even when problems emerge.

What Is a Refrigeration and HVAC Technician?

Before we delve into the details about working as a refrigeration and HVAC technician, let’s quickly cover the basics of what this role entails.

These technicians install, repair, and maintain refrigeration and HVAC systems.

Examples of these systems include:

  • Air Conditioning Units
  • Commercial Refrigerators
  • Commercial Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers
  • Radiant Systems
  • Chillers
  • Boilers
  • Heat Pumps

Most people are familiar with HVAC technicians who have come to their home when their air conditioning system broke down during a particularly hot day and saved them by turning the cold air back on.

However, these technicians are just as important in commercial settings, too. If you think about the refrigeration requirements of dairy products or hospitals that need to maintain specimens, the working knowledge of HVAC technicians become absolutely vital.

A Day in the Life of a Refrigeration and HVAC Technician

Your daily duties as a refrigeration and HVAC technician will mostly involve some combination of the following:

  • Taking calls from people who need your help
  • Scheduling customers’ services calls
  • Drive to worksites
  • Look over blueprints for refrigeration and HVAC systems
  • Order replacement parts
  • Connect systems to air ducts, water supply, and fuel lines, and other components
  • Install electrical controls and wiring and test those connections
  • Inspect and maintain HVAC and refrigeration systems
  • Troubleshoot HVAC and refrigeration systems

However, how you spend your day will depend on who employs you.

For example, you may work as a repairperson for homes, which means most of your day will involve taking calls, driving to people’s houses, and fixing their HVAC systems. You could also be employed by a large university or hospital, which would mean your job would involve regularly troubleshooting these systems and working on them as required.

As just about every modern building – both commercial and residential – requires some kind of HVAC and/or refrigeration system, the job field for qualified candidates is extremely diverse.

Jobs for Refrigeration and HVAC Technicians

Speaking of employment, here are some of the most common job titles you’ll see for people who have received training as refrigeration and HVAC technicians (not all of these are entry-level positions):

  • Air Conditioning Mechanic
  • Air Pressure Technician
  • Environmental Maintenance Technician
  • Facility Maintenance Technician
  • Heating Equipment Technician
  • HVAC Control Technician
  • HVAC Foreman
  • HVAC Installer
  • HVAC Mechanic & Installer
  • HVAC Service Technician
  • Maintenance Plant Engineer
  • Refrigeration Mechanic & Installer
  • Refrigeration Technician

Eventually, you may decide to start your own business, too, focusing on HVAC and refrigeration services either for people’s homes or their businesses.

Contact us today. At IntelliTec Colleges, we offer a program that can be completed in as few as 18 months, at which point, you’ll be ready to sit for your certifications and then begin work.

Would You Like Working as an HVAC Technician?

If you don’t like working with your hands, you won’t enjoy working as an HVAC technician. This is something you’ll need to do every single day and there’s also a certain physical component that goes along with that. You may need to climb up into air ducts or on top of roofs.

Those aren’t the only prerequisites for enjoying this work, though. The following are also traits you should think about before taking this career path.

1. A Comfort with Technical Blueprints

Many people simply don’t enjoy anything remotely technical. They don’t mind using their hands for sports or hobbies, but they have no interest in trying to get them to follow blueprints or technical directions. If you’re someone who recruits their friends to put together IKEA furniture, this job won’t be a good fit.

On the other hand, some people absolutely love looking over a machine’s blueprints. They find it as easy as reading a menu.

This is a huge advantage for people who enter this field. Even though you’ll receive a lot of technical training before you receive your degree and begin working, you can’t possibly cover every single brand, machine, and device. Instead, you must be able to look over blueprints and apply your knowledge to the problem at hand.

2. A Love for Problem Solving

Speaking of which, the problem you need to solve won’t always have straightforward, obvious solutions.

Sure, sometimes, it will be clear what has to be done. A component will need to be replaced or some long overdue cleaning is required.

However, refrigeration and HVAC technicians often need to think outside the box. The devices and machines you have to work on are complicated, meaning their problems can be even more intricate. People who give up easily won’t last very long in this field.

In contrast, if you love a good challenge and are patient enough to keep trying to solve it until something finally works, you’ll find plenty of engaging opportunities as a refrigeration and HVAC technician.

3. The Ability to Work Alone

You won’t work in complete solitude as a technician, but there will be plenty of alone time, so it’s a position best suited for people who don’t need constant company.

That said, some interpersonal skills won’t hurt. You’ll most likely spend time around your coworkers and may even work together on some jobs. It will also help if you can explain HVAC and refrigeration issues to your clients in laymen’s terms.

When it comes to the actual work you do, though, you’ll most likely be on your own the majority of the time. Many people actually prefer this, especially those who love having a problem all to themselves. If this sounds like you, working as a refrigeration and HVAC technician will probably be the perfect fit.

Want to Learn More About Becoming a Refrigeration and HVAC Technician?

Now that you have a better idea of what it’s like to work on refrigeration and HVAC units for a living, are you excited about beginning on a path toward making this your career?

If so, contact us today. At IntelliTec Colleges, we offer a program that can be completed in as few as 18 months, at which point, you’ll be ready to sit for your certifications and then begin work.