After deciding to participate in an HVAC/R program, your next step is to find the right school. Your training program should give you the skills needed to begin your career in the field, so you need to start out right, using modern equipment and tools and in a hands-on training environment. Here are a few of the qualities you should be focusing on when comparing HVAC technician schools to start your heating and air conditioning training. For more information about technical training programs at The Refrigeration School, contact an Admissions Representative.

1. refrigerationschool.com
Whether an HVAC/R Technician School or
Program Is for You.
how to determine

2. Three Main Qualities of Top HVAC/R
Technician Programs
Any merit-worthy program will have a couple key features in
place that allow students to build a strong foundation as an
HVAC/R technician. By the same turn, participating in a program
lacking these qualities may cause serious obstacles for graduates
later on.
First, a good program will offer hands-on training, which is
something you won’t be getting in any online “training” program.
Some schools may section off large training centers from lecture
halls, or systems and equipment may be brought directly into
classrooms. Despite the venue, the crux is to have either live
equipment or professional training aids that students can handle
and make changes to themselves. When working with tools and
equipment makes up the bulk of your career, it is crucial that
you become intimately familiar with those items throughout your
early training. Pure theoretical work will not look very good from
an employer’s standpoint, and it will only get you so far in your
own practice. Demonstrating proficiency early on, however, will
be an asset.
The second major feature to check for is to verify that any program
you look at is in fact accredited. Accredited programs are held to
certain standards of quality and undergo rigorous professional
analysis in order to maintain those elect standards. Students
enrolled in an unaccredited program may well find themselves
unprepared for licensure tests, let alone a full workload. Also,
if you plan on building on your education through continued
or advanced study, those programs will most likely only accept
credit transfers from accredited programs.
Finally, any HVAC/R training program should be supported by
the local licensure board. Students are responsible for taking
licensure exams themselves. The results will naturally be a
reflection of the student’s own effort, but reputable programs
should expose students to the knowledge and skills that will be
tested within the exam.
How to Determine W hether an
HVAC/R Technician School or
Program Is for You
HVAC/R technicians touch every aspect of our
lives. Every house constructed and every office,
store, restaurant and skyscraper built has seen
the work of an HVAC/R technician because all of
these structures need to be equipped with some
form of heating, ventilation, air conditioning,
or refrigeration systems. In more affluent areas,
demand rises even more sharply as more people
have these systems installed directly into their
homes and more businesses crop up, necessitating
installation and maintenance of these systems
for the sake of building codes. In response to
this, a number of technical training schools have
risen to provide the workforce necessary to
satisfy this need. However, not all schools are
created equal, and as students consider entering
an HVAC/R training school, there are a few things
they should keep in mind to help them weigh the
relative value of each school.

3. Methodology for Narrowing Down
Schools
The first thing you may want to do is search for jobs you would like
to apply to now or in the future. Not all worksites require prior
training or technical degrees. Working without first training for a
degree could be a way to test the waters to see how you like the
field before committing to a multi-year certification or diploma
program. An employer may even offer you reimbursement for
advanced technical training by paying for some or all of your
tuition.
This will not universally be the case, though. Some companies
have very specific training requirements that would require you
to undertake certain training or have a certain license before you
apply. If you are considering a company with such requirements,
it would be wise to keep these specifications in mind to tailor
your education.
If you can talk to any industry professionals, seize that opportunity
and ask what they know about programs you are interested in
and if they have any recommendations of their own. No one’s
experience will be exactly the same, but an insider’s perspective
will prove invaluable to you both when you apply for programs
and jobs.
For any HVAC/R training program with strong potential, look at the
details of that program. The time to completion is vital to those
who need to start working as soon as possible. Often program
lengths will vary because the class times themselves vary from
school to school. In other words, you may be learning the same
material but at different speeds, so this point is good to compare
between schools. Other factors to take into account include total
tuition cost and cost/credit hour, financial assistance options,
textbook and tool requirements, primary training and industrial
equipment, and amount and structure of hands-on training.
Generally, the more experience you can get in vocational training,
the more prepared you will be for the workplace. You should also
look for schools with small class sizes. This is generally a sign that
training good technicians is a priority for the school over turning
a profit by stuffing the most students into a class as possible.
When you’ve narrowed your choices down to just a few schools,
talk to a couple alumni from each program. Ask them any lingering
questions you have about their experience in the program, what
they did afterwards, and what their first employers coming out of
the program thought of their training. Visiting each school itself
and taking a look at what their classes involve firsthand is highly
recommended as well. If you can, talk to some of the program
instructors and look at their backgrounds. If you have any
questions about the application process, seek out an admissions
adviser. Essentially, on the campus visit you should familiarize
yourself with the resources available to students.
RSI: The Refrigeration School
RSI in Phoenix, Arizona aims to provide comprehensive vocational
training for emerging HVAC/R technicians. RSI holds that theory directs
vocational training while hands-on training is needed to establish a
career in a hands-on position. Working under this principle, hands-on
lab classes are a major emphasis in RSI’s programs.
Workers with greater interpersonal skills in addition to work aptitude
are more likely to please employers and find jobs more easily than
those with vocational skills alone. As HVAC/R technicians have to
interact with clients a great deal, interpersonal skills become a critical
part of the technician’s skill set. Technicians are often the public face of
the company they represent because interaction with the technicians
is often the basis for how customers form their impressions of the
company as a whole. That being the case, at least basic communication
skills are vital for continued business and the spread of positive word-
of-mouth brand awareness. That is why, alongside its vocational
training, communication is also a major focus of the school’s Career
Services Department.
Students should also be sure to utilize Veteran’s Affairs, Referral
Assistance (for finding suitable housing), and Part-Time Employment
Assistance to get the most out of the resources available to them.
Resources:
http://www.refrigerationschool.com/student-services.html
http://www.refrigerationschool.com/career-dev.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2124128_compare-trade-schools
vocational-colleges.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8092287_trade-school-colleges.htm
http://lhughs.hubpages.com/hub/online-hvac-training

4. info@rsiaz.edu
(888) 943-4822
Whether an HVAC/R Technician School or Program Is for You.
how to determine
refrigerationschool.com
4210 E. Washington St., Phoenix, Arizona 85034 888-943-4822
Accredited School, ACCSC. Licensed by the Arizona State Board for Private Post Secondary Education. GI Bill
Eligible (check with local campus for specific eligibility). For more information about our graduation rates, the
median debt of students who complete our programs, and other important information, please visit our website
at: http://www.refrigerationschool.com/GEdisclosure.
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