Hey everyone, I do apologize if this post seems
a bit long to read, but I am in need of some career advice.
I am currently a 2nd year apprentice at the company I work for. I have been learning as I’ve gone along and have been progressing at a good rate, but I’m still uncertain about what career path to take in HVAC. I work in commercial HVAC in FL. I know someone here will just say to stick to completing my apprenticeship as a technician first and get experience first before adding another skill to my toolbox, but I have been trying to keep myself interested in other areas of the HVAC industry.
I’ve always had an interest in wanting to learn welding at a night school for my own personal growth and fulfillment, but also have been trying to look at things from the professional standpoint of having increased versatility at the company I work for. I also figured that welding would be beneficial to me outside of work for small side jobs and gives me something to continue learning about at home.
I then realized that having welding knowledge would overlap with the needs of the HVAC industry, since welding is needed to fabricate things such as new chiller pipes and sheet metal, I figured it made sense from that standpoint to consider combining some skill sets to prepare myself for the future. I don’t have any prior background in sheet metal work or fabrication work, but would love to learn how to do it at some point in my career. I bring this up because the area I work at has a sheet metal fabrication shop and another shop where chiller/other piping systems are fabricated as well. Because of this, I have an interest in maybe moving over the fabrication and production side of the HVAC industry if it’s financially sensible to do so. I understand it’s obviously not going to be easy to transition into since the skill sets needed will change, but I am willing to make that sacrifice for the sake of learning new things about HVAC since there’s so much to learn.
I think having welding certifications could benefit my career in HVAC to both myself and the company I work for, even if it’s something I may not use all the time right now as an apprentice. Will obtaining welding certifications open up new doors and possibilities for my HVAC career? Or is welding not as needed anymore with the way HVAC is now? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!
Pipefitting is usually it's own trade, and welding isn't typically done by technicians.
Get the certification if you want it, but it's not something you're going to see much as a service tech.
Not everyone wants to be a tech.
And certainly not everyone should be a tech.
And hey, that’s ok. The field is so large that we need all kinds of people with all kinds of skills and ideas. If you want to take welding night classes and jump to another skill set, then do it. It may hurt your wage progression short term, but it won’t hurt your career long term.
There are a lot of toxic a-holes in the trades because they just walked the path before them. I used to be one of them. In my opinion a great many guys in HVAC would benefit from having a broader understanding of what other guys in this field do as a course of their daily grind. People that manage jobs would benefit double.
TLDR; Early on, become a skill monkey. See what you enjoy. It won’t hurt you long term.
I kinda have that same mindset as you described there about a better understanding what other tradespeople do in HVAC, figured the more I could take on and learn now, the better it will play in the long run for my career. Appreciate the advice!!
Love this and wish more shared that mentality. I went to trade school and learned service (really amazing teacher that brought his own equipment from his company for us to work on). I ended up doing installs for my normal job and did service on the side. A few of my class mates came to the same company I worked for and kept trying to push me to go into service since they knew I was one of the top guys in the class and they looked down on installers, but I honestly just preferred doing installs. Since I know service I can also make sure that it's done properly and won't f over service and maintenance guys and if I run into a problem I can fix it. I'm actually considered tech support for the rest of my installer department.
Main reasons I prefer installs to service is because of all the different stuff we have to do, like building stands and all that, so our skill set is quite varied. Not dealing with irate or annoying customers as often. Knowing that when I'm doing with the job I'm done for the day (usually) instead of having another call pop up. Also, not having to work overnight on call whenever it's their turn. I worked graveyard shift on my old job don't wanna do that shit again lol.
I dont have much to say about welding but you can also look at getting MED Gas certified. Same ACR and nitrogen brazing practices its just not refrigerant running through the pipes.
I have seen some stuff regarding MED Gas certifications, not sure if my company would benefit directly from it but I’ll certainly give that a look. Appreciate the feedback!!
I wanted to do this, but in my local there are so many welding apprentices there’s few resources for cross training. They will make room, but it’s distracting from your primary training. There are also welders who work for hvac shops, so you gotta pick your path, after you turnout it’s easier to go back and do it again. You’ve earned some respect by putting 5 years toward a skilled trade. Doing on your own at night school is a good start. Also talk to your coordinator about switching if possible.
Your biggest financial gain from welding in Florida is going to be on ammonia piping. There is a certification and testing procedure involved. Basically you're going to have to start your own little company and subcontract out to other hvac companies for work that is needed. There are a couple of larger contractors around that will put a full-time welder/ HVAC tech on the payroll. This will take some investment on your part for a truck and welder and all the other tooling that goes with it.
Welding can be useful but it really depends on the company. I know the union presence is weak in Florida but if you have a UA down there you should try to get in. Everybody including their service techs get pipefitter training which includes welding certifications and there’s normally optional night classes in welding that are free and supplemental as well. Once you journey out of you decide you like welding more it’ll be easier to picky to a company in the union that does what you like.
What union are you in?
Not in a union unfortunately, around the Clearwater - Tampa Bay Area for my work, I do know there are some unions for the electrical and boilermakers/ironworkers, but haven’t been able to see anything for HVAC. Are there any HVAC unions across FL?
If your not in the union how are you an apprentice?
The company I am with had job openings for apprentices, both electrical and hvac at the time I applied. They have a training program that they are putting us through. Florida doesn’t’ have a strong union presence, but this was the best training I could get at that time…
Turns out the states have DOJ registered apprenticeships in the trades. Many go this route to sit for their respective license tests
Oh yeah I forgot about the ABC as well.
Thank you all for your advice!!! I’ll certainly be looking into some of stuff with the unions and other certifications I can get.
Dont waste your time. No welding. No money. Go to school for electrical. Learn diagrams. Do elect 1a at Junior colkege..
Most ac is electrical, next is air flow then refrigeration.
If you are a non union company your apprentance is as go as your employeer and it residential that means it's worthless.