HVAC Opportunities Career Guide and Counseling

Question: I am wanting to go to school for either diesel mechanic or heating & refrigeration HVAC? Wondering the pros and cons on both. Is one better in a recession? The HVAC covers electrical and other things, so it opens more opportunities. Any thoughts or ideas would help thanks.

Answer: both are good choices

Question: HVAC question: Does anyone know why the A/c handler connections outside ice over on a very hot day ? This is the first time I've seen this, the house wasnt cooling and I went outside because roofers were working there with ladders etc right next to the units for a week and that greatly concerned me. The place where the tubing etc goes into the unit was all iced over. I've seen that once before on a propane tank that was over filled. I don't want this to be an opportunity for an a/c repair person to over inflate the problem. so anybody with hvac knowledge, please help.

Answer: Being dirty or low refrigerant will cause a system to ice up. Shut down a/c and spray outside coils till they are clean of ice and dirt. If this happens again it needs charged. Be sure inside a - coil is clean as well. clorine tabs will prevent condensation drain clogs.

Question: What is the best skilled trade to have and why? Recently, I have been thinking about learning a trade because noone can take that away from you. Trades such as electrician, HVAC technician, auto mechanic, chef, and barbering seem to be on the top of my list, but I am having trouble deciding which one is best for me. My deciding factors are salary, job opportunities, and the likelihood of owning my own business. Please take into consideration the economy and how it would affect my career, thank you.

Answer: Auto mechanic. It's not like it used to be. Now a top notch mechanic earns a very good living. Cars have become very complex. Plus you are able to get a job anywhere you want. All shops are looking for qualified and reliable help. The upside is that without a major investment, since you already own your own tools, you can start up your own service company. And regardless of the economy, people are going to have to get their cars fixed.

Question: 17 years old good job opportunities help? well i have a good chance of getting inn the hvac sheet metals union once I'm 18, but i work right now for construction and engineering and my boss told me if i stayed with him he'd set me up with an IRA account and a 401K plan and he'd match a fourth of what i make so for easy numbers 400 a week (its more) and he'd put 100 of his own into one of the accounts. now i could be making around 20 an hour when I'm about 18 19 and i don't know how much higher though...but with the union I know if all goes well I'm guaranteed a lot more in the long run but i have no idea which one to lean more towards right now...please help

Answer: Personally I would stay w/ the construction and engineering because you can do so much more w/ it in the future plus your boss seems to really appreciate you very much

Question: WHICH career should i choose? I'm currently a taxi cab driver making pretty good money. Me and my wife want to start our own taxi cab business in 5 years. But i've also wanted to learn a trade, mainly HVAC. Should I take courses in HVAC or should I forget it and stick to the taxi cab job. I've wanted to learn a skill so that I'll always feel secure when it comes to job opportunity but at the same time, im making better money as a taxi cab driver than i think i would as an HVAC tech. Please help, what should i do?

Answer: If your wife is TRULY good at it then do the taxi cab thing together. But make sure she is able to pull her own weight just like any normal employer would, I have made this mistake in the past and paid dearly for it. If you two can pull it together then you'll make tons of money and that's you both made, so you can forget about works issues and start enjoying life, we only live once and once the work BS is sussed the rest should be to do with ourselves.

Question: Which state has a better job opportunity? Detroit area Mi or Knoxville area TN for HVAC

Answer: In a couple months Detroit will be completely bankrupt. So I would go for Knoxville, Tennessee

Question: A company invited me to an interview. I don't know if it is related to my field or if it is the real deal. I have been applying for accounting jobs. Then today, this company call "direct energy" sent me this. "We have reviewed your resume for our energy registration position and would like to invite you for an interview on Wednesday May 21st 2008 @ 1:30 pm. Website: www.directenergy.com Dress Code: Business Casual Job Description: No Experience Necessary! Full Training and Certification Provided. Registration of British Columbia consumers on Natural Gas programs, and HVAC Services. 1st Interview required to determine eligibility for our positions. Rapid advancement opportunities and Industry leading pay package with commissions and bonus. Territory and leads provided. Full time/ Part time positions available for 1) Residential Field Sales Registration 2) Commercial B2B Sales 3) Management and Trainer opportunities 4) Students " What is this? It doesn't say it is for accounting position or even describe the position. I am very confuse. Is this fake? Should I go?

Answer: I am confused too. Definitely you are going there for interview, but be careful not to commit anything like training expenses etc. Best of luck.

Question: A company invited me to an interview. I don't know if it is related to my field nor if it is the real deal. I have been applying for accounting jobs. Then today, this company call "direct energy" sent me this. "We have reviewed your resume for our energy registration position and would like to invite you for an interview on Wednesday May 21st 2008 @ 1:30 pm. Website: www.directenergy.com Dress Code: Business Casual Job Description: No Experience Necessary! Full Training and Certification Provided. Registration of British Columbia consumers on Natural Gas programs, and HVAC Services. 1st Interview required to determine eligibility for our positions. Rapid advancement opportunities and Industry leading pay package with commissions and bonus. Territory and leads provided. Full time/ Part time positions available for 1) Residential Field Sales Registration 2) Commercial B2B Sales 3) Management and Trainer opportunities 4) Students " What is this? It doesn't say it is for accounting position or even describe the position. I am very confuse. Is this fake? Should I go?

Answer: Direct Energy is the US and Canada marketing arm of Centrica (otherwise known as British Gas). They are a genuine company, but that doesn't mean the deal's any good. "Residential Field Sales Registration" sounds remarkably like going door to door trying to persuade people to change their energy supplier. You get a sales target (usually unrealistic) and get paid a pittance until you reach it. After that you get commission on any sales. Some people make a living doing that. A lot of people do it for a few weeks and walk away with nothing. It's not an accounting job.

Question: Resume help? I just threw this together while at IHOP. I polite way to ask about insurance policies and how much they pay, which are the determining factors of if I even take this job. So please revise this or CORRECTIVE criticism Target: Sales, cashier Reason for leave: Seasonal employment Single Source Satellite Delivery, Dish Network Installation, Customer service, Warehouse Reason for leave: College Linens ‘N’ Things Sales, Cashier, Back stock Reason for leave: Full time employment needed Trevino Mechanical Contractors Delivery, HVAC Installation, Delivery, AutoCAD Drafting, Shop Fabrication Reason for Leave - Needed Part-time employment I have been a stable employee since day I could legally be employed. What I am looking for in Lindab is the opportunity to use my talents to achieve personal advancement while benefiting the company. In construction it is key to always be one step ahead of the present so that your next quality line of duct will hang quickly.

Answer: This is a chronological resume with the Summary of Qualifications at the end. 1. Move the qualification summary to the top of the page. I don't understand the last sentence, but it should read something like this: Top-performing, results oriented construction professional with over (___) years of comprehensive sales, installation, construction and warehouse background. Proven achiever with a great work ethic and drive to succeed in the construction industry. Previous background includes shop fabrication, delivery....etc. 2. Employment History: Target (city and state) (then add dates worked) Sales and Cashier (bigger font) Then describe the job, not the reason for leaving. You can put the reason in the job application, but not as a description. You may also need a cover letter, but that would be a different question. Your Qualifications Summary actually seems like the beginning of a cover letter rather than the intro to the actual resume. Pay and benefits will usually come up at the second interview, don't bring it up first. Ask lots of questions! Good luck!

Question: Where should we move? We're a young family of four. We are looking to move in a couple of years, when I will be done with school. I'm a Music Business Major and my husband is ex-military, a diesel & uav mechanic, and HVAC certified. The kids are 6 (almost 7) and 4. We'd like a place that is cultural, good schools (don't just teach the kids to pass what is on state mandated exams) or private schools, close to beaches (a couple hours drive is ok), where I can use my music business degree, good sports, and close to alot of family activites. We will be expanding our family in a few years aas well. My husband is brazilian, so we need someplace open-minded and where people practice tolerance. Right now in the town we live in, the knights of america, or rather the KKK, have their meeting place on the square and practice openly. We are only here because of the job opportunity presented to my husband when he got out of the military. We love the sunshine and outside activities. Where is a good place in the US for what we are looking for? We have a couple years to research the area, decide on the exact area we want, and visit it to decide for sure. We are just stuck as to where to go. Thank you for any help in advance.

Answer: I have lived in California, grew up mostly in Washington state (lived there until I was 30), New York and am now in North Carolina. I can honestly say that I think North Carolina, particularly Raleigh, has all the things you mentioned. My brother-in-law is from South America and has not had any issues with people discriminating against him. The beaches (beautiful, white sand....maybe not Rio, but still nice) are about 1 1/2 hours away, the mountains just a few hours as well. The schools (even the public ones) were named in the top three in the nation over the last few years. There are many colleges in there area, (including Duke and UNC) which means the area is quite diverse, as well as educated. There are many great musuems and theatres. Now, it isn't NY, but I personally like that about this great little city. We have great farmers markets, flea markets, etc. Plus, it seems every weekend there is some great family event in town, often for free.

Question: Should I accept this job? Hi. I recently finished my B.S Electrical Engineering in Malaysia. A local company in Malaysia offered me a job as Electrical Engineer. They are paying me RM 2000/mo. The company deals in HVAC things (which is mostly related to mechanical side).What I think regarding the job scope is that i will only deal with Autocad drawings as the rest of work is purely mechanical and I have got nothing to do with it. Now I want you guys' suggestion whether or not i should take this opportunity keeping in mind that I have got very little out there related to electrical engg. Thanks a lot.

Answer: If they offered you the job, then obviously they believe you have the basic skills necessary to succeed in the position. Take it, they will likely train you on the rest of the information you need to know.