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My son is now 20, And he decided to pick up a trade instead of continuing to persue his undergraduate degree. I was wondering if anyone can suggest where to learn either Plumbing and or HVAC in New York, and whats the salary like for both and which is in more demand and better for his future.
in the beginning it was something like 8 to 5. every so often you had to cover nights and weekends on overtime as we all rotated . refrigeration and air conditioning has lots of emergency's .
I moved away from basic hvac service and more in to troubleshooting complex control systems .
eventually migrated away from that too .
the last 20 years has been spent moving in to designing and selling custom fan and pump control panels . retired last july but still teach motor controls and vfd's a few days a month .
like all jobs , the more you learn to do that other's can't or won't the better the pay .
when i first entered the hvac field back in the 1970's it was wide open . very few were going in to that field .
as time went on more and more entered so more and more i migrated away always trying to find related area's where the general crop of workers were not .
i ran the gamut from installing and servicing , in to just trouble shooting complex control systems . from there i went in to just selling gear and eventually migrating to selling and designing custom pumping and fan panels having little to do with actual hvac work . .
most of what i sold was pumping panels and motor control centers for the water and sewage treatment plants in the city and long island .
it was a great career for 40 years but one i found i was constantly shifting gears in to get away from the pack . but my basics all came from when i was in the hvac field .
as a sales engineer , multiple 6 figure incomes are pretty normal if you can sell and do straight commission .. it can take many years to reach that point .
my old company is usually hiring but initial pay is much lower .
i still do training for them in motor controls and drives and love doing it in retirement .. i enjoy just teaching and interfacing with everyone . when it is just yourself and wife 24/7 if not with the grandkids doing something you like can be fun . the fact i get paid for it is a bonus .
Last edited by mathjak107; 09-22-2016 at 03:50 AM..
The techs I supervise are HVAC techs under the IBEW Building Trades. The work primarily in the city, and normal work hours are 8-3:30. They rotate "on call", and can be called in at any time; being dispatched at 2am for an emergency call isn't a rare thing.
All of them started out with a trade school, and then were hired as helpers/apprentices. They stayed there for a least 5 years and moved into "technician" pay when the foreman and management agreed they were ready to do so.
back in the day we are all members of the tin knocker unions .
i remember running a ac call for a well know catering hall at night . they forgot i was up on the roof and locked up and left me up there . i had to break a sky light so the alarm went off and they came and got me down . access was via a roof hatch .
electricians are usually wire and pipe slingers for the most part .
in fact we do most of the programming and start ups when it comes to drives ,plc's and soft starts in our panels . electricians just install and pipe them in .
very few electricians are versed enough in the higher end products while they really should be at this point .
but hey , we get 600 bucks minimum for 4 hours time to just do the start ups or programming . that is point to point so it includes travel time too . an educated customer is our worst customer ha ha ha .
when i sold a panel i made a healthy profit on the panel but we got to sell start up most of the time too . if it was a simple swap out of an existing we would do that too ourselves and picked up an installation fee as well ..
so basically you sold the job , we designed the project , built it in our shop and then even installed it and started it up . it was a very lucrative business, far more lucrative than i found just doing ac repairs to be . did i mention we were also the distributor for all the parts used too ? in fact we manufacture the water pumps too over seas and assemble , design and do quality control on them in long island . we employ about 125 people .
talk about a vertical integrated business , phew !
Last edited by mathjak107; 09-22-2016 at 04:18 AM..
The IBEW covers all our guys: electricians, control technicians and engineers, and HVAC technicians. If I need a guy that can rebuild a centrifugal chiller, I have to go to the electricians' union hall and ask for guys.
What ends up happening is when I find a guy that can do what I need, he's usually with the pipefitters' union (UA). I then have to convince him to come work for me, join the IBEW, and change pensions.
To the OP:
If you want to get into HVAC, start by going to trade school. If you're lucky, you can find a shop that will hire you while you go at night; if not, go full time and then look for work. The school will teach the basic theories that you need to start: electricity, refrigeration cycle, brazing, air dynamics, safety.
Then try to get on with a shop that has an apprenticeship program. Pay attention and learn what you're being taught, and go from there.
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