FREE MONEY!

I heard the other day that some friends of mine have a problem – they have too much money and not enough people interested in taking it off their hands. AHRI has established the REES scholarship program to encourage people to go into the HVACR field. The scholarship is named after Ted Rees, a longtime president of ARI. Money has been donated by many AHRI member companies as well as other businesses in the HVACR trades. Why? Specifically to address a critical shortage of trained technicians the HVACR field. They need applicants for the scholarships. So lets see – they will pay you to study a field with a chronic lack of trained people so you can earn a good income when you graduate. In a time when jobs are hard to get, and college costs are high, here is an industry willing to pony up cash as an incentive to train for a profession with a true career ladder, good paying jobs, and very good employment prospects upon graduation. These jobs cannot be outsourced, they will not be replaced by automation, and they require education and training to perform – you won’t be replaced by unskilled laborers. HVACR jobs are nationwide – really world-wide, so you are not tied to a particular company or location. There are many types of positions, so advancement is common. To find out more about what you can do to apply for a REES Scholarship, check out http://www.reesscholarship.org/

Why Meters Are Important

I am sometimes asked “Why should I buy …” (you fill in the expensive meter). Although I can usually come up with a good reason for any particular meter, the overall reason stays about the same: to make your job easier. Having the right tool makes all the difference. After you have beaten up a few fan blades and spent unproductive and frustrating time trying to bang blowers off of motor shafts, you realize that the money spent for a good hub puller is an investment in your time and sanity. The inexpensive socket sets from discount stores are common examples of tools that are not suited for heavy work. The handles are short, the ratchets strip, and the sockets crack. Yes, I have been there and done that. Having a quality tool that is rated for the job allows you to do jobs that just can’t be done with lesser tools. Meters and instruments are no different. You really can’t measure a vacuum without a vacuum gauge, and if you don’t measure it, you don’t know when or if you have a good vacuum. We deal in airflow, yet many technicians do not have any instruments for measuring airflow. Would you hire an electrician who did not own a volt meter? Good instruments allow us to do our job correctly, and more easily. They save time too. Rather than guessing what is going on, we can measure and know. I am not suggesting that just spending thousands of dollars on meters will make you a good technician, you still have to know how to use them. However, not having the instruments limits your ability to do your job. When considering a new meter or instrument, think about any potential time savings and what your time is worth. For example, if a leak detector does a better job at locating leaks, wouldn’t it be worth more to you than a less effective leak detector? There is another aspect of having good instrumentation – professionalism. Customers notice when you take measurements. When checking a low airflow complaint, I remember a customer remarking “the other guy just held his hand over the vent.” Having a tool and taking a measurement increased the customer’s confidence in me. It also allowed me to provide numbers showing the improvement in airflow. In a market that is increasingly customer service driven, using meters and instrumentation can help differentiate you from the pack.

The Successful Interview

Spring is the time that many HVACR firms start looking for help. Happily, this coincides with students graduating from colleges and trade schools looking for jobs. Now would be a good time for anyone who will soon be in the job market to think about the reasons someone should hire you. Remember, nobody but your mother will hire you just to give you a regular income or make sure you have health insurance. They hire you because you can solve problems, make money, or both. So ask yourself, “What can I do for my future employer?” Some little things can be important, such as showing up every day on time, being pleasant to work with, and applying yourself to the task at hand. However, none of these things separate you from the long line of applicants with no particular training. If you are just graduating from school, you have demonstrated the ability and desire to learn about HVACR. If you have taken any third party certifications, you have demonstrated some command of the terminology and concepts involved in HVACR. Both of these effectively separate you from the unskilled crowd. Speaking of certifications, you should not even consider applying for a job until you have taken and passed the EPA Certification. Having it will not land you a great job, but NOT having it can keep an employer from hiring you. Without the EPA certification you cannot legally do much besides manual labor – effectively putting you back into competition with the unskilled crowd. You should be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge. Many employers give tests. One told me that he asks any prospective employee to draw a basic refrigeration cycle, label the components, and describe the refrigerant states in each part of the system. If they can’t, the interview is over. You should also be able to confidently explain how to use a PT Chart and measure superheat and subcooling. On the electrical side, you should be able to read a schematic and recognize common electrical symbols. You should be able to check common electrical components with an ohm meter and wire a basic circuit. Your personality during the interview process is essential. You should be positive with a can-do attitude. HVACR involves a lot of interaction with people. One employer told me that the first impression he got of the person interviewing was the way he imagined they would look to his customers as well. If he did not like what he saw or heard, there was really no chance the person would be hired. Now is not the time to be shy or humble. The interview is your opportunity to convince the employer that you can perform. Don’t try to pretend you can do things that you can’t do, but don’t expect the interviewer to discover how wonderful you are completely on their own. If you wait for the world to discover how great you are, you might be waiting a while. It is a harsh fact of life that the employer is only considering what you can do for them. It is up to you to show them.