There is a bit of a misconception about HVAC career paths. Many assume that after you get your education, training, and certifications from your heating and air conditioning training school your options for a job are either becoming an HVAC technician or an HVAC installer. While both of these career paths are very rewarding, HVAC career paths are not anywhere near as limited as the perceptions may be.

The truth is getting your certification in heating and air conditioning can open you up to a wide range of HVAC career paths, each with its own unique specialties and rewards. Some of them will keep you in homes and businesses helping out those in need, others will take you to worlds of innovation.

If you are considering pursuing education and training in the HVAC industry but are concerned about limited career options, let us put your mind at ease right here and now. Here are a few examples of the various HVAC career paths you can follow when you begin your career in the HVAC industry.

HVAC Technician/Installer

These positions are typically the first that come to mind when someone thinks about a career in HVAC. The reason for this is because this is the type of HVAC professional that people encounter and interact with the most as well as being a common first job for many new HVAC training graduates.

While it is true that a career as an HVAC technician or HVAC installer is a common career path, that doesn’t make it any less important or rewarding. Technicians and installers provide an invaluable service to customers (both residential and commercial) maintaining, troubleshooting, fixing, and installing furnaces, air conditioning systems, and other heating, cooling, and comfort systems. The average salary for a HVAC technician in Texas is around $42k per year.

Automotive HVAC Technician

HVAC technicians aren’t just relegated to working with in-home systems. Just about every single vehicle manufactured today, and the majority of those on the road right now, are equipped with air conditioning and heating systems. These systems require a specific skill set and require more than just a regular car mechanic to maintain and repair.

As an HVAC technician, you have the opportunity to specialize in HVAC areas outside of homes and businesses, including the automotive industry. Your career path may begin in a common fashion, but pursuing additional training and certifications can elevate your HVAC career into an entirely different area, with its own challenges, opportunities, and equipment to master.

Refrigeration Technician

A similar road for HVAC technicians can lead to a career in HVAC servicing commercial customers of another very different kind. Restaurants, hotels, and other similar establishments depend on the use of large refrigeration systems to store and preserve food and beverages to serve to their customers. Without properly running refrigeration, their food supplies spoil and they can’t serve their customers.

These large refrigeration systems, maybe not so surprisingly, utilize refrigeration equipment not so different from the cooling systems you’ll train to master at The Training Center of Air Conditioning and Heating. Your career path as an HVAC technician can become one that specializes in troubleshooting, maintaining, repairing, and installing these refrigeration systems, providing very specialized and valuable services to commercial businesses. Technicians in this specialty average around 40k per year in Texas.

Solar Energy Technician

As the world looks to adopt more widespread use of clean and renewable energy sources, businesses from factories to retail locations have begun using solar energy as a primary source for their energy needs. In order to harness the energy from the sun, complex arrangements of solar panels are required to capture solar energy. The solar energy technicians that install, maintain, and fix these panels often start their careers in HVAC.

Your career in HVAC can lead you down a path of working with cutting-edge technology and green solutions to preserving natural resources. In the United States, 3% of electricity comes from solar energy and this figure is only going to grow. As a result, not only are solar energy technicians an exciting career path, job opportunities have increased by over 167%. Additional training will be required to work on these systems, but in Texas the average solar energy technician can make on average around $73k per year.

Wind Turbine Technician

Solar energy isn’t the only green energy technology available for HVAC professionals to adopt along their HVAC career path. The energy produced by wind turbines is clean, cost-effective, and is currently the largest source of renewable energy in the US. This has made wind turbine technicians one of the fastest growing and available jobs in the country, and one that can begin with training in the HVAC field. 

Wind turbine technicians can make around $55k per year in Texas, and with the availability of jobs and the growing demand, this is a very appealing road for many HVAC professionals to take.

Because of the proficiency in electrical components, refrigeration, and problem-solving you will gain through your training and education, a whole world of opportunities await those in HVAC. All you need to do is find what interests you and pursue your passion. The demand for skilled labor across the board is high, so no matter which direction your HVAC career path goes there will be a place for you if you are willing to work hard and put in the work.

At The Training Center of Air Conditioning, we will provide you with the education, training, and certifications you will need to pursue whatever path you choose. Learn more about our 10-week course and our upcoming schedule of classes today.