Do you think you have what it takes to be an HVAC technician? If you think having a passion for working with your hands and enjoying the chance to meet new people and catch up with existing clients are enough, think again. Being a successful HVAC technician requires you to have a generous number of skills that go beyond the talents and interests just mentioned.
Skills Which Will Help You Succeed as an HVAC Technician
While some people are born with certain skills that will help them succeed as an HVAC technician, such as an outgoing and friendly personality, many of the abilities HVAC technicians rely on can be learned. Some of the talents and credentials you’ll need to develop to flourish as an HVAC technician include:
- Mechanical Skills: Depending on the nature of the call that comes into your HVAC business, you may have to assemble or disassemble at least part of an HVAC system. You’ll learn how to do these things during your training and you’ll be taught how to program the HVAC units you work with. To be successful, you have to be confident in your ability to install, repair, and remove HVAC equipment using your vast mechanical skill set.
- Communication Skills: From clients to coworkers to supervisors and dispatchers, HVAC technicians verbally communicate with a variety of people over the course of a typical workday. They must be able to accurately relay complex information in terms their clients will understand and explain why certain repairs or equipment is necessary to service customers’ HVAC systems. HVAC technicians must also have exacting written communication skills. HVAC technicians must complete reports, prepare instructions, and provide specifications, which requires them to communicate accurately and effectively using written words.
- Computer Prowess: With today’s wired work environment, HVAC technicians need to have a solid set of computing skills so they can retrieve work assignments, monitor systems, and test HVAC equipment using computers and other electronic devices.
- Customer Service Skills: While having excellent communication skills will make it easier for you to provide stellar customer service, they’re not all that’s necessary for you to render the level of customer service many clients and prospects expect. You’ll also need empathy, active listening skills, and an unshakable commitment to respond to your clients in a timely manner.
- License: Depending on the state where you plan to work, you may need to acquire a license before you can be an HVAC technician. Even if you don’t need a license, you should still undergo training before you begin this kind of work so you have the credentials that will give clients confidence in your professional abilities. You should make it a point to learn about the various codes you’ll need to adhere to when you work, including NFPA, BOCA, NFC, and NEC.
- EPA Certification: The Environmental Protection Agency mandates that all HVAC technicians who handle refrigerants are certified to work with them. Since working with refrigerants is often a big part of an HVAC technician’s job, you should secure the EPA’s certification to handle these compounds.
- Trouble-Shooting Abilities: Many HVAC technicians respond to a call for help without having a clear idea of what might be wrong with the caller’s system. In order for you to determine what the problem might be, you’ll need to have strong troubleshooting and deductive reasoning skills.
- Organizational Skills: To avoid wasting time looking for tools or shuffling through paperwork to find the address for your next stop, you’ll need to have good organizational skills.
- Interpretation Skills: As an HVAC technician, you’ll have to be able to interpret complicated documents such as schematics and blueprints. Developing some spatial reasoning skills may enhance your ability to interpret these documents easily and quickly.
- Time-Management Skills: HVAC technicians often handle several calls in a single workday. To get to each appointment on time, you’ll need to have excellent time-management skills so you can complete your work in a time-efficient manner.
Think you’ve got what it takes? Contact StateCE today to take the next steps.