Deciding to pursue a new career is exciting, and once you’ve found your dream job, it is tempting to jump right in with both feet. However, in order to be good at what you do, you must prepare properly. After all, you want to be known as one of the best in your field, so making sure you have all the right qualities and all the right training is essential to your success. This is especially true for anyone who wishes to pursue a career in the HVAC industry. While in high-demand, HVAC technicians must possess certain traits in order to truly be successful at their jobs. Before beginning any HVAC training program, we recommend you have or work on improving the following skills.
Traits that Make HVAC Service Training Even More Successful
Being a good HVAC technician takes more than just knowledge of the tools and equipment of the trade. The job requires other skills that many people fail to think about before entering an HVAC training program.
- Customer service skills – As an HVAC technician, you will be working directly with residential and/or business owners who need their systems repaired or maintained. It is tremendously important that you possess exceptional customer service skills because in many instances, the people you come across won’t be in the best of moods. A good HVAC technician is able to professionally handle unhappy customers and deal with stressful situations with finesse and patience.
- Time management skills – During the course of a workday, an HVAC specialist must handle several calls. As such, he must be able to manage his time efficiently to get each job done in a timely manner, so he can move on to the next quickly. Being organized and self-motivated are key factors in making this happen.
- Education – In order to be considered qualified in the HVAC industry, you should receive a formal education. Heating and air conditioning repair programs last anywhere from six months to two years. An HVAC school like ours offers a 9-month program that provides hands-on training taught by the qualified instructors who have an extensive experience in the industry. We have three campus locations in the mid-Atlantic Region of the United States.
- Licensing – Once you’ve received your training and are a full-fledged technician, you will be required to have a certain HVAC certification, depending on the state in which you work. Regardless of the state and its specific laws, you will be required to take a certification exam before you can begin working.
- Certification – Because HVAC specialists work with refrigerants while on the job, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires they have HVAC certification in the proper handling of refrigerants. You will take a specialized exam, for which Valley College helps prepare you.
- Mechanical skills – If you are not mechanically-inclined, don’t worry. You will learn these skills during HVAC training. However, it is important that anyone considering this field be comfortable working with mechanical systems. HVAC systems are complicated units that require technicians to have knowledge of disassembly, repair, assembly and programming.
- Troubleshooting skills – Most home or business owners who call for HVAC service repair give little to no information to help the technician figure out the problem. Because of this, a good technician asks questions, assesses the equipment and uses good troubleshooting skills to figure out what is going on as quickly as possible.
- Physical strength – Many HVAC technicians work alone on service calls. It is helpful to be physically strong and in shape because some parts and equipment can be heavy. Furthermore, because the job is so physical, and days can be long, being physically fit ensures the stamina it takes to make it through the day.
- Attention to detail – We mentioned earlier that HVAC technicians need to be organized in order to be successful. This means keeping good records of each appointment, the services performed and the equipment used. There should be no question as to what took place at each call. Being detail-oriented protects the technician and the customer alike.
Do You Have What it Takes for Heating, Ventilation and AC Repair career?
If you think you have what it takes to enter the fast-paced, exciting world of heating, ventilation and ac repair, get your new career going by contacting Valley College. If you’re in the Princeton, WV area, we are proud to inform you that we now have HVAC training available on our Princeton campus. HVAC technicians are in high demand, so now is the perfect time to jump-start a career in this field.
Our 9-month program allows you to train quickly for your new career, and with frequent start dates, you do not have to wait to begin your new journey. The HVAC industry needs dependable, hardworking people like you, so enroll at Valley College. Our admissions office is on hand to take your call today.