hard to find someone who will hire coming out of school

I could not find a job in field because of my background and no vehicle

I feel your pain. I have been going to school going on my second year in HVAC. I can't sean to find a job nether. Whats hard for me, I think, I'm a women trying to get into the feild. I'm looking to an employer to just give me a foot in and I know I can do it.

I'm not in HVAC but I'm in the same boat as you guys and I am getting seriously frustrated. I went to school for Computer Network Specialist, took ten classes for six weeeks for 14 months, completed the courses nine months ago, graduated and got a diploma in the field in May 2008, got A+ certified in January 2007, and it seems I can't find an employer that's
willing to let me get my foot in the door so I can gain IT experience for two years. That's all I'm asking. I know I can
do the job, or my dreams and passion wouldn't have been the computer field. I learned skills for different IT roles, but it's difficult finding an employer that's willing to hire someone fresh out of school who have no work experience. I tried getting state jobs but they didn't want to hire me because the lack of experience. I tried local companies and hospitals that got IT Departments, but I got the same thing.

Tried GS and local computer stores to help gain two years of
experience but none are hiring because of the economy and people are hurting so they aren't spending their money. I tried temp agencies that place people for IT jobs but they either don't have anything or tell me to keep checking in everyday. How is one supposed to get IT experience when employers aren't willing to hire them? No experience in the Tech field mean no IT job. I interned for a local computer store without pay for two weeks, but after two weeks is over with, a person need a job and can't continue working for free but it did expose me to the IT field and I'm getting some interviews because of the internship, but still no IT position. I have to pay back three Sallie Mae student loans on
the same low paying job I have been working at since I have
decided to better myself two years ago.

Sorry for the long paragraphs but I'm frustrated in my job search and I thought computers would be a good career for me being young and growing up around computers.

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum. I know how you guys feel. Don't give up. Someone will hire you for a HVAC technician job.

wade carter in philadelphia pa in Bensalem, Pennsylvania said: I am a 41year old hard working adult with a back ground in carpentry, plumbing , and alittle electrical. worked building ships , yard closed. wanted a career change, went to school , cant find job to get me started in this new career, not job but career, why is it so hard if there are so many hvac jobs

Yes i'm going through the same thing. I recently got certified in heating and air at Lanier Tech. The biggest issue in that career is that most employers now days want to hire someone with years of experience, that way they save money from not having two people to do a one person job when going through the training process. You might have to get creative. If you know someone from the course you took at school, you might want to see if you can tag along if the person does any side jobs for his friends or relatives.That way you can start the process of getting experience. Also there are training videos you can purchase online to refresh your memory.

I have been in HVAC for 7 years now, and I think it sucks. Any constuction job I do not recommend. It is an abuse on your body and health I recommend getting a desk job, retirement age is going up and up, can you climb ladders and hang duct work at age 67? can you sit behind a desk at age 67?

wade carter in philadelphia pa in Bensalem, Pennsylvania said: I am a 41year old hard working adult with a back ground in carpentry, plumbing , and alittle electrical. worked building ships , yard closed. wanted a career change, went to school , cant find job to get me started in this new career, not job but career, why is it so hard if there are so many hvac jobs

i went to school for hvac i been soo, bless i got my job before i finish my school, but i start applying for jobs in 6 diferent conpanys and one of the companys callme back and i got my interview, and they hireme,the start salary was $14hr is not that much,but i need the experience.you have to trying very hard

I share a common breath here.......I graduated from a Trade School and got my EPA (Universal Technician) License....but to my dismay most places won't even respond to my resume......they are looking for experienced technicians with a minimum of 2 to 5 years of experience. It's really frustrating......I'm almost about to give up and try a different field....which would be a waste, since I went through all that schooling.

Jeff Brown in Las Vegas, Nevada said: I also went to school for HVAC, and cant get a job to save my life. All these companies want experience, but how can we get eperience if we cant even get a chance. being HVAC certified and having youre EPA certs means absolutely nothing!

I went to a school called (Quality Air Training) off of Industrial....do you know that school? Anyways.....I moved out here to San Jose, Ca....where my wife's family is (had to move because of her complaints...) but, I think if I stayed there my chances of getting a job would be increased...especially in Las Vegas?? Keep trying..........somethings got to catch....eventually there......

Sorry to say, but at 41 just getting in this trade in will not get you hired anywhere anytime soon, unless you want to be an installation grunt. 99.9% of companies want experienced technicians. It's is going to be extremely tough for you. Not only will getting in with a good company be tough but getting and getting good wage is not likely. That's just how this industry works unless you have at least 5-10 years experience in some type of trade specialty such as refrigeration, chillers, controls, etc

Helen,
There are state jobs and state jobs. I am a programming manager for Dept of Transportation. We probably have the most technically sophisticated IT structure of any KS state dept.

Watch the state jobs web page. If you see a KDOT networking job, try for it. Our Bureau of Computer Services hires a lot of young, minimally experienced people.

Two things:
Get some kind of job. When I get a resume where someone did nothing for a year or so, I am skeptical about how much they really want to work. Even if you're delivering pizza, be a darn good pizza delivery person. A good reference from Papa John's is better than no reference.

Hang in there. Sometimes it takes a while to break into the IT world, but once you're in, the jobs are pretty secure, and offices are better places to work than crawlspaces.

BTW, I moonlight for a buddy that has a HVAC company. It's not bad work either, just different.

Paul in Topeka, Kansas said: Helen,
There are state jobs and state jobs. I am a programming manager for Dept of Transportation. We probably have the most technically sophisticated IT structure of any KS state dept.

Watch the state jobs web page. If you see a KDOT networking job, try for it. Our Bureau of Computer Services hires a lot of young, minimally experienced people.

Two things:
Get some kind of job. When I get a resume where someone did nothing for a year or so, I am skeptical about how much they really want to work. Even if you're delivering pizza, be a darn good pizza delivery person. A good reference from Papa John's is better than no reference.

Hang in there. Sometimes it takes a while to break into the IT world, but once you're in, the jobs are pretty secure, and offices are better places to work than crawlspaces.

BTW, I moonlight for a buddy that has a HVAC company. It's not bad work either, just different.

Paul,

I've applied for state jobs and had three or four interviews, but,
I continued getting turn down due to the lack of experience. I decided to do something about it by going back to Bryan College and
getting my credit hours completed for my Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Information Systems - Networking. This time, I got an internship somewhere for two months from July until September 2009. Your post just gave me hope to try getting an IT job with the state in spring 2010 when I gradate from college the second time. I do have a PT job which I have been working at for five years, now. It's like I haven't been doing anything for the past two years since I graduated from college. I was frustrated. The college I go to, Bryan, they always use the state for their grads who just recently have graduated and won't have previous IT experience.

[Cont]

Added on to my first post...

With the new and added education and qualifications, old education
and qualifications, pumped resume, professor, Associate's degree, two IT certifications (A+ and another IT certification, I am not
sure which one, yet. I take that class for that certification online next month), internship experience, and been on the same PT job for five years now, I'm sure I can land an IT job with a state agency next April. I am a fast learner who is intelligent who can
be trained the way that agency's IT Department runs, and I do look on the state's job website, the agencies are always hiring. If your
agency, KDOT, is hiring next year, I am going to apply there. I will also apply at the Department of Administration, KBI, and other
state agencies who is willing to give new college grads with degrees a chance at an IT job. I am not going to give up. I will pray. Giving up is for wimps.

Have a nice day.

I am currently in high school and am thinking about going into HVAC school do yall think its worth it?????

I feel what everyones else is going through. I am just finishing HVAC school here in Des Moines at Vatterott College, and I can not find a job in the field to save my life. I am 29, andhave over five years experience in floor covering before this. I have applied with over 50 contractors withinthe last 5 months, and interviewed with over 20, either in person over over the phone. And all of them have said I am too inexperienced to work for them. I am graduating with a 4.0, top of the class, and EPA certs. I have a clean driving record, with a class B CDL, but it does not matter to employers. I have tried hvacagent.con, mepjobs.com, and every other site. I feel that going to school for this may have been the biggest mistake in my life.

Josh Huber in Des Moines, Iowa said: I feel what everyones else is going through. I am just finishing HVAC school here in Des Moines at Vatterott College, and I can not find a job in the field to save my life. I am 29, andhave over five years experience in floor covering before this. I have applied with over 50 contractors withinthe last 5 months, and interviewed with over 20, either in person over over the phone. And all of them have said I am too inexperienced to work for them. I am graduating with a 4.0, top of the class, and EPA certs. I have a clean driving record, with a class B CDL, but it does not matter to employers. I have tried hvacagent.con, mepjobs.com, and every other site. I feel that going to school for this may have been the biggest
mistake in my life.

I feel your anxiety I have been in the same boat for 6 months now. It is just a bad time of year, HVAC ALWAYS PICKS UP IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER. You might try local contractors in your area in person but get a referral letter from your instructor at school. No education is a waste in my book at least you could work on your own system and maybe friends and family. And with each experience of this type you could get letters of recomendation from them to potential employers.Try to keep positive somthing is bound to happen soon.

Fernando Perez in El Campo, Texas said: I am currently in high school and am thinking about going into HVAC school do yall think its worth it?????

YES! Do it! This a good career!

Try getting any type of experience.....like apts, sears, air duct cleaning companies, small hotels, local food stores, technical staffing companies.

I am still looking for work myself, but I'm getting more interviews with smaller companies and technical staffing firms. lord knows that I don't want residential work but i'm going to take what ever comes my way at this point....the economy is tight!

Hey dude, the guy who's lookin to get IT experience, but no one's willing to give him a chance. If no one will hire you, then dude, why don't you start your on mobile IT business? I worked at this company for over 10 years, but unfortunately the company ended up closing at the end of last year, but we had this IT guy that would come out whenever the company computers failed, or if new programs needed to be added, we use to call him to come out. He had a huge customer base and would travel around to wherever he was called out. He charged our company like $50.00 to $75.00 an hour. He worked for himself. He did pretty good if you ask me. If I were you I would check into it.

I think the dude you're referring to is really a 'dudette' (Helen), but your point is well taken.

The thing that I keep wondering about as I read this board, is why all of these people that are coming out of school with lots of hvac training, and no job opportunities, aren't doing the same thing (starting their own businesses).

I realize that it's a little different than IT, because of the need for credentials--master's license and that type of thing. But there must be zillions of retired guys with their master's, who have taken a financial bath, and wouldn't mind hooking up with a young guy, providing the credentials, and teaching the young guy the tricks of the trade, in order to pick up some extra bucks.

In a down economy, you sometimes need to get a little more creative in your thinking in order to locate opportunities. That doesn't mean that the opportunities don't exist. When I came out of college with my electronics degree in the late 70's, the economy was tanking, too. Inflation was horrible. Nobody was hiring. I interviewed with MANY companies. Finally found a job fixing juke boxes, video games, and pinballs. Was it what I wanted to do with my EE degree? Heck no. But it paid the bills, and got me a bunch of good electronics experience. My next job was as a Customer Support Engineer with a major computer company, at over twice the salary. One of the main reasons I got that job was because of the heavy troubleshooting experience I got on the first job.

BTW, I went down and got my Universal a couple of weeks ago, and am planning on shagging some calls at my buddy's hvac company, this spring and summer. We've done 4 new installs since Jan 1st, and I enjoy the work. It's a lot different than the desk/office thing I do all day, and doesn't pay as well, but there is a certain sense of accomplishment when you turn on the breaker and peek in and see the igniter glowing and hear the gas valve pick, and things start up.

walter in Newark, New Jersey said: i went to school for hvac i been soo, bless i got my job before i finish my school, but i start applying for jobs in 6 diferent conpanys and one of the companys callme back and i got my interview, and they hireme,the start salary was $14hr is not that much,but i need the experience.you have to trying very hard

If you get lucky and get hired on there in KY you start out at anywere from$8-$10 an hour. Try raining a family on that. But I want still like to found a job.

I'm afraid things aren't getting any better. It just started getting hot though. I also am finishing a 2 year program for HVAC. I've had interviews, been all over a 100 mile radius going door to door and trying to make good personalized contacts. I've offered to do On the Job Trainning with out pay short term so they can evaluate my knowledge and performance. I've heard one question at every place I've been to. Do you have your journeyman? And if you don't have it, they don't wanna help you get it because their afraid you'll go make more money somewhere else. It's no wonder they advertise such a need for HVAC techs...We can't get proper experience and trainning. Seems to me that Journeyman means supervisor. I think every Journeyman had ought to be required by law to keep atleast one apprentice employed and up to three. It's not like the money isn't there. And the work is definitely there. And with all this going green and newer high efficiency equipt. and the cost of R-12 and 22 going up steady, causing a need for equiptment change outs and replacements- it's going to eventually cause all the damned ice cream to melt if they don't start trainning some of us. LOL.

Not because you're a women, you are not getting the chance. I graduated last year with my A/S and still can't find a job. The best thing is to try to get into an Apprentership program, that will give us the experience we need.

People,
You have to start out as a helper if you have no experience. If your over 40, well lets just say its tough starting out as a helper. I been in HVAC-R now for about 3 years or more, and its tough on the joints. Im 39 so Im feeling it. The reason your having a tough time breaking in is because these days nobody wants to train, its on you. An assoc. degree dont really mean your trained. Go for the certs like NATE because the exams are based on experience. I have to tell you though, once you brazed in a TXV valve or two or done some troubleshooting for 15 hours straight, this sh-t aint all that difficult, its just back breaking. Dont make it more difficult than what it is. The employer can pick up on who can do what because those who can do dont want to do it..lol. Those who are eager are the newbies, and they wont be eager in two years, they will be ready to move on. It all boils down to money. He wants somebody to make him money with no call backs and do the job right and know what he/she is doing. My brazed joints never leak and my sh-t is clean. Once you hire some clown that cant do sh-t right, then what? You got to let him go and find another clown. They are just sick of cycling through people.

So I have a friend who got into the HVAC apprenticeship for the next 3 years. He was told that once he graduates he can get a job right away making $28 an hour. I am however hearing from the emails circulating that that may not be the case which sucks because he is so proud he'll be making an honest living to help raise his 3 boys. He can't feed himself on $14/hr let alone raise and feed 3 boys

Id stick with the apprenticeship program before any pyramid scheme. Nothing pays 30$ starting right off the bat unless your union. I dont even know if there is an HVAC union. Plumbers, etc in the union might make that starting off. If your good, youll be in demand. If your good and not in demand, Id go somewhere that recongnizes and pays accordingly. To be good, you must put in the time, no shortcut around it. Its just basic economics and business. The owner has to make a profit and the tech aint the only expense he has. A semi skilled job like a CDL driver can make pretty good money if you dont mind being away from home. Thats a different game, you just haul stuff and repeat cycle, nothing to fix or install. In this business service is what pays, service and parts and new machines. You got to be a salesman aka liar, a technician, driver, etc.

Thanks Mike in Japan. I suppose with most career, it's all about experience and quality of your work. I appreciate your comment and will pass it on.

No problem. I dont know it all, but allot what I see posted is B.S. Sometimes a person is baiting you to do something in order to use you or get you believe the hype about a 10G scam school. Apprenticeship aint a bad deal, and he might make 30$ and hour once he has done 4 years, so I must rectract some of what I said. Starting as a helper, I dont see it happening but after 4 years of training, he might get it. 30$ an hour is allot to pay somebody, because there is overtime as well.

"But anyway I'm on the edge to where I'm thinking about working for myself because companys just seem like they don't want to hire so I figure I can take their business."

THAT is the essence of the free enterprise system. If you can figure out a way to do it better/cheaper/faster, then go for it.

Speaking as someone who has been self-employed (I'm not right now, but I'm working on a deal), there is something really gratifying about making it on your own. The stresses are great, but so are the rewards.

As to the fact that companies don't want to hire you, remember that in order for a company to hire you, you have to make them more than you cost them. There are all sorts of expenses besides payroll, associated with running a company. So if they're paying you, let's say, $20 per hour, then you have to be making them $50 per hour. Believe me, at that 20/50 ratio, they are probably netting between $7 and $10 on you.

No matter how good your training was, they are not going to send you out on service calls alone, until they know you pretty well. That means sending you out with experienced (means expensive) guys to start with. So, instead of $20 per hour, that service call is costing them $50 per hour JUST FOR WAGES. If the bill is $100, they have not made a cent.

Try not to take the hiring thing personally. Things are slow right now, but one day it will turn around.

Until then, try to think creatively. I've always thought a young guy who wanted to make a buck could get his 609 certification, and set up a little operation topping off auto A/C systems. No repairs, no vac, just top off. Only do 134a. There will be a huge demand in the early summer, then it will taper off. Maybe when it tapers off, you would have time to do some service. Last summer, I paid a garage $870 to replace the compressor in my Caddy. Later priced a rebuilt compressor--$210. Maybe $8 worth of 134a. Maybe 2 hours of labor (it was hard to get to).

Hang in there.

314 Pipe Welder,

Dude, I feel your pain but have you applied as a helper? Ok you fell for the HVAC training scam. Well I got to be careful with that, but thats what allot of it is in my opinion. I say I got to be careful because this is the way it should work-
Start as a helper, then go to school. If you do it azz backwards, your going to be a know it all and not want to haul. Haul, and study. Thats what they want.

I should add-
Haul, study, and work on the cheap. Its called paying your dues, and it can suck..

Also dude, you said that the companies are worried you might take their business. They aint worried about that. Paul got it right. They worry they will loose money on you. They been there done that. It takes time to get good at this sh-t just like it did for you to be a pipewelder. The chances of you taking any of their busniness are slim because your a beginner and you probally couldnt handle any of their big accounts or clients.

See this guy is working it. He is out there finding people down on their luck and taking advantage of it.

Hey Mike
I agree that the guy is trying to take advantage of people down on their luck. Whomever the moderator is, should give him a couple of chances, then boot him off for good.

This is a professional forum, and is not an appropriate venue for promoting pyramid schemes.

I just wanted to say to everyone looking for work that Perserverance and studying and doing whatever you can to increase your knowlege, And putting your trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will pay off in the end. I had lost my job in Commercial HVAC back in Sept.08 Priour to that I had residential HVAC experience, I wanted to stay in commercial, but things just was not working that way, So I decided to try to get my NATE certification and try the residential market again. I am now NATE certified, and employed by a residential HVAC company as of 5-11-09 this is my first week and I worked 70 hours from mon. to fri. I am enjoying every minute of it even though I hurt like crazy in the p.m.

Well congrats to you. I guess NATE does pay. Ill try for the heat pump cert next. Have you done that one?

I did try the heat pump some time back but missed it by a couple of questions. From what I remember it was pretty tough, but thats been a while back. I would like to get the heat pump cert myself and I may try it if I can get the boss to pay for it. I seen RSES had a new book on heat pump test prep I ordered one so I might try the test again latter on.

i am an employer looking to hire a certified hvac technician but cannot seem to find the right candidate. any suggestions?

Several out there, including myself. I guess it depends on what creds your looking for. 10 year vet of the trade wont move unless you offer him something better than what he is getting. I hope your not a troll, seems there is tons of folks looking for work, why you need to ask such a question here seems suspicious to me.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a legitimate employer looking to hire a skilled HVAC technician and I can assure you that I have better things to do with my day:)

I stumbled upon your site trying to find a qualified person to hire and had read some of the comments on the site and thought that it would be a good venue to assist me in finding a candidate.

I was not interested in hiring outside of my tri-state area and was hoping that someone local would tap into your resource as I did.

If you would prefer me to no longer post, I will respect your decision and find an alternative solution for my candidate search.

mmm

no problem dude. Im not in charge of this site so please do as you wish. It just seems with all the recruiters and what people have posted here about jumping through hoops to try and find work, seems you havent been looking hard at all.

I completely understand where you are coming from with your concerns. It would be unconscionable for myself or anyone else to do something like that to another person....especially in today's job market where there is so much downsizing/difficulty in finding work.

Under normal circumstances, the corporate office would be conducting such a search but, over the past year they have stream lined and given more autonomy to the local offices, I had only recently, as of the Friday before my post to the indeed site, begun the search. This is my first foray into a search for an HVAC person so, I am admitting that I am "green" with regard to the process.
If this were any other position I would have had this sewn up like yesterday.

I initiated my search by reaching out to a lot of the recruiting firms and they all offer the same costly package with no guarantee of success in finding the employer a candidate. Which would not be cost effective for my company as both mandates have to be met. I did however, on the advice of an Industry Colleague, post the position on Craig'slist on Monday, and have received some resume's/replies over the past several days some good, some not so good that I will vet and schedule for interviews.

Thanks, for your feedback
mmm

Mmm--call your local HVAC vocational school and community colleges that offer HVAC programs. Placement assistance is usually offered as a service to students and costs employers nothing. Happy hunting!

Yeah I read somewhere that those schools werent following through on their promises, seems there arent any companies contatcting the schools for new grads these days and the schools couldnt get the graduates placed. Im sure you could find hundreds of candidates on that list waiting to get hired.

I'm in a HVAC school in AZ at the moment and i can guarantee if you contacted a school where you live you would get tons of applicants.

dude are u at RSI?

No i'm at AAI,3rd Phase

Mike in Japan said: Yeah I read somewhere that those schools werent following through on their promises, seems there arent any companies contatcting the schools for new grads these days and the schools couldnt get the graduates placed. Im sure you could find hundreds of candidates on that list waiting to get hired.

I actually work for a Technical College and we offer HVAC there. We have a Career Counselor on campus who is AMAZING and she finds jobs for these students and holds on campus interviews for them so there are more job opportunities offered to our students, then there are students to fill the positions. Campus wide we had a 98% job placement, with 100% job placement in our HVAC program, on top of that we offer life time job placement for all graduated alumni. The problem with some of these other Technical schools are the numbers. We keep our numbers small so we can offer more one-on-one attention to our students. If you are looking for a Technical training at a College somewhere, make sure the there is a low student to instructor ratio, that should help with the job offers come time to graduate.

~Tiff~

Tiffini Overstreet in Colby, Kansas said: I actually work for a Technical College and we offer HVAC there. We have a Career Counselor on campus who is AMAZING and she finds jobs for these students and holds on campus interviews for them so there are more job opportunities offered to our students, then there are students to fill the positions. Campus wide we had a 98% job placement, with 100% job placement in our HVAC program, on top of that we offer life time job placement for all graduated alumni. The problem with some of these other Technical schools are the numbers. We keep our numbers small so we can offer more one-on-one attention to our students. If you are looking for a Technical training at a College somewhere, make sure the there is a low student to instructor ratio, that should help with the job offers come time to graduate.

~Tiff~

I recently just graduated from a techncial college 6 months ago and they told me the same phrase you just said. We have 98% job placement and there is also a career services to asist you on campus. Man all of this is just completely false advertisng from these trade schools. I just spent thousands of dollars hoping I would be able to find successful employment after graduation but that has not happened. If you are a high school student about to graduate or maybe someone who is thinking about getting into the HVAC trade strongly think about it before you do it or make sure that you are bound to get a job with a good company once you graduate. I feel like this was a complete scheme so that trade schools are able to take thousands of dollars from you.

To the lady from kansas there is no 100% job placement assistance that is completely false. We even had small number in our classrooms to about 15 in each class.
Many of these companies just do not want to hire inexperienced technicians

I'm sorry you had such bad luck with your school, and yes I can see how colleges would like to make money off of students by using false advertising. I do believe I work for a college that has nothing but good intentions for its students. We are a government funded, non-profit organization technical college, so money is not an issue with us. In fact the majority of our students don't even spend a dime on their education, due to scholarships and grants that we find for them. I couldn't work for a company that misleads students, and definitely wouldn't be telling people about our programs if I wasn't 100% sure it was all for bettering the future for the students who attend it. I really think a lot of the HVAC jobs come along with who you know and where you want to be located, and fortunately for our graduates, we have faculty who have successfully placed them with employers whom we have spent years building good report with. Just because some colleges scam students, doesn't mean all of the colleges do. Believe it or not, there are a select few places that do actually care about how successful their students are after they leave campus. I am proud to be working at one.