If you’re thinking about joining the HVAC industry, you might assume you’ll become a technician. What you might not realize is that there are many types of specialized technicians working in HVAC and Refrigeration.
Here are some of the possible HVAC specialist jobs you could pursue at some point in your career.
Top 10 HVAC specialist career options for technicians (including Refrigeration)
1. HVAC Maintenance Technician
An HVAC Maintenance Technician is someone who is focused on the preventative maintenance tasks that keep heating and air conditioning equipment in peak condition. You will visit customers regularly (usually according to a schedule defined on a service contract) to change filters, clean equipment, test components, and inspect the entire system for signs of impending problems.
Key skill for this speciality: Keen powers of observation, since you’ll need to be able to spot subtle signs of impending problems.
2. HVAC Service Technician
An HVAC Service Technician diagnoses problems and performs repairs on all types of HVAC equipment, including air conditioning, heating, and ventilation equipment and distribution systems. Within this job, you might specialize in residential or commercial systems, or even specific types of equipment, such as VRF systems or chillers.
Key skill for this speciality: Customer service skills, since you will be interacting with customers every day to explain your findings and next steps. It’s important to be able to create and maintain positive relationships with customers.
3. HVAC Installer
An HVAC Installer is an HVAC specialist who handles the installation of new systems and replacement systems. Like a Service Technician, you could further specialize in residential or commercial installations, or even installing specific types of systems.
Key skill for this speciality: Carpentry skills, because you’ll need to install equipment, refrigerant lines, piping, and ductwork in walls, floors, and ceilings. Especially in a big city, sometimes you need to be a wizard to figure out where to put everything!
4. Air Conditioning Technician
An Air Conditioning Technician is a specialist in different types of air conditioning systems, such as ducted split systems, ductless mini-split systems, VRF systems, water-cooled systems, chillers, and more. While you’re working only on the cooling side, you may perform many tasks such as maintenance, diagnostics and repair, as well as installation.
Key skill for this speciality: Physical agility, especially in a city like New York. You’ll find equipment components, fans and ductwork crammed into all kinds of tiny spaces, and you’ll need to be able to get to it to perform inspections and repairs.
5. Heating Technician
A Heating Technician specializes in the heating side of HVAC, including boilers, forced-air furnaces, electric heating, larger base-building heating systems, and possibly radiant floor heat. Like an Air Conditioning Technician, you’ll likely perform many tasks related to installation, repair, and maintenance.
Key skill for this speciality: Plumbing experience, since working with many types of heating systems requires skill with piping.
6. HVAC Design Engineer (or Mechanical Engineer)
A Design or Mechanical Engineer chooses system components and designs the layout of an air conditioning and/or heating system, considering the amount of space, its usage, and the energy-efficiency of the space. An engineer may perform sales tasks and oversee the installation of the system.
Key skill for this speciality: Architectural/mechanical drawing skills (such as AutoCad). Many people in this role start out as technicians and use their deep knowledge of systems operation to become skilled designers.
7. Refrigeration Technician or Mechanic
A Refrigeration Technician works on larger refrigeration systems in restaurants, supermarkets, manufacturing plants, or research laboratories, or medical facilities. You may be involved in system design, performing installations, testing and maintenance, or diagnosing and repairing equipment.
Key skill for this speciality: Curiosity and love of learning, because refrigeration work is very complex and it can take years to achieve competency.
8. Field Service Manager
After gaining experience as a technician in the field, you may be able to work as a Field Service Manager supervising other technicians. The job involves scheduling, overseeing technical work, interacting with customers (especially when problems have escalated), preparing reports, and working with equipment and parts suppliers.
Key skill for this speciality: Ability to stay calm under pressure. As a manager, you will not only direct the actions of others, but when things go wrong the problems will come to you to solve. That might mean calming an angry customer, convincing a supplier to waive a charge, or “talking down” a technician who had a bad experience.
Technical Estimator
When Maintenance or Service Technicians find problems that can’t be fixed on the spot or require customer approval, an Estimator takes on the task of defining what needs to be done and developing a cost estimate. Estimators also create proposals for new installations and may meet with costumes to review and sell them.
Key skill for this speciality: Math skills and sales skills. As an Estimator, you’ll need to calculate accurate pricing (probably using spreadsheets or software). But another important aspect of the job is talking with customers and selling them on new installations.
HVAC Trainer
In a larger HVAC service organization, a knowledgeable technician may become a Trainer who teaches basic theory and diagnostics, repair skills, and details about working with new equipment and tools.
Key skill for this speciality: Deep technical expertise and teaching skills. This is an ideal position for someone with a great deal of accumulated knowledge who might be ready to forego the physical demands of field work, and who is great at teaching others.
Learn more> HVAC Career Path: What Are the Possibilities for Service Technicians?
Does company size matter if you want to specialize?
The size of the company you choose to join probably will impact the types of work you will have the opportunity to do.
For example, if you work for a larger service company, chances are they will have a volume of work that will allow you to specialize. If you work for a smaller service organization, you’re more likely to become a generalist (or a jack of all trades), which does have its advantages.
Want to become an HVAC specialist? Take our quiz
Find out if a career as a technical HVAC specialist is right for you: take our assessment quiz!
HVACR Career Connect NY was created to promote the exceptional quality-of-life benefits of a career in HVAC and Refrigeration service, and also to provide a clear path for getting started in the profession. In doing so, we serve as a resource for employers in the New York City metro area to find and hire smart and capable new technicians. We also serve as an educational resource to support business growth and to help service technicians succeed in their chosen profession.
Learn about technical careers in the HVAC & Refrigeration industry, how to get hired and tips to build your career.