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Warm, cool, or just right, technicians keep our indoor climate controlled.

To nearly 350 Antarctic penguins, John Graham is the most important guy in the world. That’s because he’s part of a small crew of on-site heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) technicians who help keep “Penguin Encounter” cool. The snowy habitat is one of the most popular exhibits at SeaWorld in San Diego. It re-creates the penguins’ natural environment by maintaining the temperature at a constant 25 degrees Fahrenheit. But even small changes in temperature can make life difficult for the black-tie birds. So keeping the cooling system working properly is a 24-hour-a-day job.

Grahams team keeps the penguins’ swimming pool, their habitat, and the visitor viewing area at three different temperatures. Everything is computer-controlled, but things can still go wrong–such as power outages. Blackouts were a big problem a few hot summers ago. And more recently, lightning knocked out some equipment. Fortunately, the park has backup generators and dedicated HVACR staff members who don’t mind working overtime.

Graham’s regular duties include checking the chemical feeds of the cooling towers, inspecting the water chillers that feed the park’s “Shark Encounter” tank, and servicing the refrigeration compressors. He also maintains what he calls the “giant snow cone machine.” It freezes big blocks of water and shaves the ice to create snow. The ice is then sprayed into Penguin Encounter, creating comfortable, snowy drifts for the penguins to walk on.

Although the machine sounds complicated, it works exactly the same way as ice makers in home refrigerators. In fact, most refrigeration, heating, and air-conditioning equipment operates in the same basic way. That means work experience from any HVACR job can be readily transferred to other positions in the field.

Many technicians also specialize. Graham got his job at SeaWorld because he specializes in automation controls. Most of the park depends on automated cooling and heating controls.

CAREER PATH POSSIBILITIES
Like many other technicians, John Graham started his HVACR career with school. He attended San Diego City College and got an associate’s degree in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. Of all the jobs Graham has had, from refrigeration service to working with a commercial air-conditioning company, he says SeaWorld is his favorite. It’s not hard to see why. Who wouldn’t like working with penguins all day?

Of course, theme parks are not the only places that use HVACR technicians. Just about every building in the world has some kind of climate control, including hospitals, office buildings, grocery stores, and homes.

So, as you can imagine, there’s plenty of work. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts there will be growth in demand for skilled HVACR technicians over the next decade. And the pay is very good. According to the air-conditioning Contractors of America, salaries start at $25,000 and go up to $100,000. Technicians with computer-aided design experience can start at $40,000.

Mechanical aptitude is also important. Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems consist of many electrical and mechanical components, such as motors, that need to be fixed. Technicians have to handle a variety of tools, ranging from hammers and wrenches to torches, power tools, and electronic testing equipment.

Computers have become a big part of the job for automation specialists like Graham. “We don’t have to leave the office half the time,” he says. “We can see the entire park from our computer. If there’s a problem, we can adjust the temperature from the desktop. It allows us to be more proactive and take care of problems before they even become problems.”

PREPARE FOR THE FIELD
How should potential HVACR techs prepare for this field? School is the best place to start. Good math, science, and reading skills are essential. Technicians need to read blueprints and make estimates, such as how many tons of refrigerant are needed to cool a building. “It’s just amazing how much math there is in the refrigeration business,” says Graham.

In high school, students should take chemistry, physics, high-level math, and English, says Gabriel Cioffi, an HVACR contractor and teacher at Trade Tech College in Los Angeles. “We deal with a lot of thermodynamics,” says Cioffi. “You have to understand heat transfer. In chemistry, we deal with refrigerants and other chemical compounds.”

A clean driving record is important, says Cioffi. A bad record can really sink a job applicant if the job requires driving a truck. If you have a lot of traffic tickets, you can be too expensive to insure. Employers won’t risk expensive equipment on somebody who’s been in a lot of accidents.

Cioffi recommends that potential HVACR techs go straight to a trade school or a community college after high school. But an apprenticeship or an entry-level position can be a good alternative. Even people with no job experience can find work as apprentices, though having a degree or a certificate offers a big advantage. The HVACR field has become far more technical in recent years.

Cioffi got an early start in the field working with his father, who owned an air-conditioning business. By age 21, he had his own business and used the money he made from service calls to pay for college. Generally, apprentices can make $10 to $15 an hour helping technicians do installations and service work. “It’s the bottom rung, but there are many, many positions available to grow into,” says Cioffi.

The strong growth of residential and commercial construction is creating more demand for qualified HVACR workers than are available, especially because many senior technicians are retiring and more high school graduates are choosing to pursue white-collar jobs. The shortage is gives new workers an advantage because pay and benefits keep increasing as companies need to fill vacant positions.

With such a wide-open field, technicians specializing in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning have the luxury of picking and choosing the jobs they’re interested in–like keeping a bunch of penguins cool.

By: Nishi, Dennis, Career World, 2006