Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer Career

Job Description: Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves.


Is Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer the right career path for you?
Take the MyMajors Quiz and find out if it fits one of your top recommended majors!

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer Career

What skills are required for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers?

Importance Skills
  Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
  Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
  Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.

What knowledge is needed to be a Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installer?

Importance Knowledge
  Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
  Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.