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HVAC Mechanics
Get a Good Grip on a Hands-On Career
Would you like a job where you can work with your hands and challenge your mind? Do you like working with high-tech tools, as well as with the old reliable ones - pliers, wrenches, and screwdrivers? If so, you might be a perfect fit for a career as a Heating, Air conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC) mechanic or installer.
Climate control systems are found in virtually every home and business, especially here in Texas, where the summers are hot and humid.
The demand for qualified HVAC mechanics with advanced skills is on the rise as newer systems become more high-tech. They work both indoors and outdoors and can be found in three different fields: residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. The work may be strenuous at times and some people may have to travel to multiple job sites.
Qualified heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (HVAC mechanics and installers) are in short supply everywhere, especially here in the Gulf Coast region. This shortage translates into outstanding career opportunities for individuals who are just entering the workforce.
Nearly 9,000 HVAC Mechanic and Installer jobs expected in the Gulf Coast Region by the year 2028
HVAC Mechanics are well-paid positions without a postsecondary degree requirement and the Gulf Coast Region will need almost 950 more of per year.
What kind of HVAC Mechanic and Installer careers are there?
- Residential construction, maintenance, and repair
- Commercial construction, maintenance, and repair
- Industrial construction, maintenance, and repair
How do you become an HVAC Mechanic and Installer?
High School Endorsement: Business & Industry
All you need is a high school diploma. Technical and trade programs offer 6-month to 2-year long certifications or associate's degrees respectively. There is a growing call for continuing and beginning HVAC mechanical educations at the postsecondary level, but it is not required.
HVAC mechanics can learn exclusively on the job, though employers see less of this and more apprenticeships. Many beginning on the job start out shadowing a professional HVAC mechanic, doing basic tasks for the technician as they observe. HVAC mechanics and installers are required to obtain a certification from the Environmental Protection Agency, and register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
What does being an HVAC Mechanic cover?
- Installation: Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance machines and knowing when and what kind of maintenance is needed
- Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Repairing: Fixing the HVAC system with needed tools
- Operation Monitoring: Knowing how to test for quality and working control on the HVAC machine.
Gulf Coast Region HVAC Mechanic and Installer Programs
Community Colleges Offering Training Depending on Demand
- Brazosport College
- College of the Mainland
- Houston Community College System
- Lee College
- Lone Star College
- San Jacinto College
- Wharton County Junior College
Major Employers in the Region
- American Residential Services
- Carrier Corporation
- Comfort Systems USA
- Graco Mechanical, Inc.
- Graves Mechanical, Inc.
- Houston Comfort Air Conditioning
- Letsos Company
- Mesa Mechanical Inc
- Raven Mechanical Inc
- RDS Air Conditioning & Heating
- Systems Commissioning Inc
- TD Industries
If you have questions about our Industry/Occupation Profiles or are an organization in the Gulf Coast Region, please contact webmaster@wrksolutions.com.
*Includes the following counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, and Wharton. |