Beginning a career in HVAC 1

[kjb88]

Hello all, I just graduated with my BSME and am looking for jobs. I've been seeing a lot of postings for HVAC engineers but all my real internship/school experience has been more in product design and component engineering. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice about how hard it is to get into this field with no real experience, and maybe what its like in this line of work compared to other mechanical engineering disciplines.

Thanks, I feel like I may enjoy this field a lot, but just wanted a little advice on the subject.

 

[QualityTime]

The only problem with product design and component engineering is that it gets outsourced a lot and with it goes the manufacturing. If you get into HVAC consulting engineering it is transportable to every city in the US and abroad. You can even start your own engineering firm once you get some experience

 

[walz]

Wish you a good job in HVAC Design Field

in case you need any help

http://www.eng-tips.com

 

[PEDARRIN2]

Find a company that has enough senior level engineers that you can work under and learn the ropes - i.e. ones that will tutor/mentor you as you learn it.

Also try to find a company that has a diversified project and client base. In this rough economy - those companies that have narrow fields of clients/projects are more prone to being affected by the recession.

Find a company that is working in 3d - like Revit or later versions of Autocad MEP - this will help with coordinating and seeing how the pipe/duct/equipment fits - instead of just lines on paper.

Good luck.

 

[tys90]

I had zero experience out of college in the HVAC field and got a job. I had taken two courses in the HVAC theory and design at my school that got me interested in the field. The professor was a former HVAC engineer so it had practical applications despite being a college course. That would be my only suggestion other than having a good resume and getting your name out to a lot of companies.

 

[QualityTime]

For the vast majority university graduates, unless you are connected, getting a job takes luck and that means being at the right place at the right time when someone is looking. You have to perservere and don't quit. Sometimes you have to take a job in another field just to take the financial and mental pressure off you so that you can track down potential jobs in your field. You don't necessarily have to have taken an HVAC course in university and think that is the only way to get into the company. It helps but it is not the be all and end all. What helps is if go to those companies in person and ask to see the manager of that department who is doing the hiring. Ask him out for a coffee and tell him your background and what you can do for him. Your GPA is really not important in the working world. If you can project yourself that you are a team player, eager to learn, can communicate, are presentable you will have a shot at getting the job.

If you have an engineering degree you will for sure be able to adapt to doing HVAC engineering. If they have an opening to inspect work on a construction site that is even better. Getting some practical experience in reading drawings and seeing how things are constructed are really helpful and you can tell the difference between a person who has had practical experience and one who has not had any. Persevere in your hunt and don't give up...this is a life lesson....this is how it has been done for generation after generation...Remember that 50% of the graduates change jobs within the first two years of getting out of school

 

[QualityTime]

"....maybe what its like in this line of work compared to other mechanical engineering disciplines...."


As far as for anyone being able to tell you what it is like compared to other mechanical engineering disciplines it is tough to compare. The vast majority of engineers do work that is no where related to what they were trained for in school. It is what you make out of it.

If you like to do projects, go through the cycle from determining the client's needs, design it on paper and see it get built and working the way it should work and at the end of the day get satisfaction out of a job well done you might want to consider it as a career. But if you find out that you don't like it, you are not tied to it for the rest of your life. Just get into another field. You will have gained valuable experience technically, how projects are managed, the roles that individual people play etc. You will have seen complainers and performers, poeple who are driven to move ahead in a company and people who are steady workers but don't want the responsibility and as such do not want to move ahead. You will see the managing of people aspect and you will also see the aspect of how people go about to win projects. Your eyes will have opened a little wider about the real world. What i just said above is applicable to every job in any field. Any succeeding company that you work for will gain the benefit of that experience.

 

[kjb88]

Hey thanks a lot for all the advice so far.