One of us behind enemy lines...

[P-Squared]

I got home today and waiting for me in the mail box was my AZ teaching certificate. OK, it's just a teaching certificate for CTE (Career and Technical Education) but it puts me squarely behind the enemy lines, sort of like Hogan's Heros.

These are young men and women who are pursuing a career in the trades (HVAC) and hopefully I'll be able to shape their minds into fully functional citizens.

I got tired of bitching about the indoctrination and decided to do something about it. I'm sure a lot of my former teachers are spinning in their grave's in disbelief.

 

[acudaowner]

hear chance to help students learn as a good thing . work them like you own them . and good luck

 

[Stevo86]

HVAC u say? Grew up working in the field with my father since I was old enough to carry a tool bag, it’s a good trade, and has made me a good living. personally I prefer the commercial side of it. Good luck with your teaching, we r in a serious shortage of people getting into this field.

 

[Snipe260]

Teach them to “buy more ammo”!

 

[P-Squared]

Teach them to “buy more ammo”!

Yup, AJ taught me well.

 

[kenny1773]

Awesome, good to hear

Teach them the most important thing any human needs to know

HOW TO THINK FOR YOURSELF!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Millwright here, and I served my apprenticeship in an Industrial Refrigeration Manufacturing company. We built/installed/maintained all kinds of equipment. Most of it served the food and slaughterhouse industry, so coolers, freezers, and blast-freezers were the 'main focus'. Secondary was making artificial ice rinks.

I've made many a U-Tube chiller. Good on ya'.

 

[Sniperwannabee]

very important job congrats!! make a difference!

 

[FS1]

I hope you do better than those down here. Students come out of school knowing less than they went in.

I have found that the schools are filled with folks with zero mechanical ability. Yet no one will say "maybe A/C is not your thing".

Just about every tech we have or have had that was any good we built ourselves. Actually it's better that way. Our techs end up better. But the downside is once we train them most get stolen by hospitals, airports or big manufacturing companies. Who can provide benefits way beyond what we can do. At least we got to be part of improving their lives. But it is a never ending struggle that you just must accept.

Interviewing I always ask if they work on their own car. If yes, it's a good sign they have mech ability.

Over the years I have found that once they grasp the Pressure/Temperature relationship, it's easy training after that. How do we know when they get that? Superheat and Subcooling, once those are really truly understood. Then you have yourself a diamond in the rough. From there it is just a matter of refining them to sparkle.

Making an A/C run is not that hard. Making it run correctly and efficiently can be. You need to understand what is happening inside to really understand the difference. Down here I would say 50-60% of the techs in this biz are less than qualified. Bad fan motor or contactor no problem. Bad expansion device or control board and they don't have a clue. I read a study that said something like 50% of all control boards replaced were not faulty. Another study that 90% of residential A/C's tested were overcharged. Why? Because when they can't fix it, they just add gas and go. Taillight warranty.

Good luck, be the guy who does it correctly.

 

[Stevo86]

I hope you do better than those down here. Students come out of school knowing less than they went in.

I have found that the schools are filled with folks with zero mechanical ability. Yet no one will say "maybe A/C is not your thing".

Just about every tech we have or have had that was any good we built ourselves. Actually it's better that way. Our techs end up better. But the downside is once we train them most get stolen by hospitals, airports or big manufacturing companies. Who can provide benefits way beyond what we can do. At least we got to be part of improving their lives. But it is a never ending struggle that you just must accept.

Interviewing I always ask if they work on their own car. If yes, it's a good sign they have mech ability.

Over the years I have found that once they grasp the Pressure/Temperature relationship, it's easy training after that. How do we know when they get that? Superheat and Subcooling, once those are really truly understood. Then you have yourself a diamond in the rough. From there it is just a matter of refining them to sparkle.

Making an A/C run is not that hard. Making it run correctly and efficiently can be. You need to understand what is happening inside to really understand the difference. Down here I would say 50-60% of the techs in this biz are less than qualified. Bad fan motor or contactor no problem. Bad expansion device or control board and they don't have a clue. I read a study that said something like 50% of all control boards replaced were not faulty. Another study that 90% of residential A/C's tested were overcharged. Why? Because when they can't fix it, they just add gas and go. Taillight warranty.

Good luck, be the guy who does it correctly.

I agree with this 100%.

 

[FXDWG]

I work for a custom manufacturer and it is damn near impossible to hire techs that want to work and are able to figure anything out on their own. Even the contractors I deal with will throw their hands up and tell customers that they need the manufacturer to come out and troubleshoot because its "custom". Hard to believe that a custom air conditioner is built out of off the shelf parts and a couple of proprietary things that have in depth detailed manuals for. Reading manuals and figuring things out are just too hard.

Then you get the 20 somethings that have to be told what to do every step of the way. 20 units on the roof, you show him what to do on the first one, he does the second by himself while you go off to get the others ready, come back an hour later and hes sitting at his first solo unit. Why? Because you didn't tell him to do all of them.

The HVAC field is very self taught and on the job training. School is where you learn how to read a meter, the refrigeration cycle, the differences in control devices, and get your EPA certification. Adding a section for "how to read a manual", "cleaning up after yourself", and "public speaking" would be great additions.