How To Become A Hvac Maintenance Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hvac maintenance technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

John Terasconi

An HVAC service technician is responsible for operating, maintaining, and repairing heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, and performing other related duties. Their job description entails both skilled and unskilled responsibilities under general supervision. It involves performing various tasks relating to maintaining and repairing refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilating, and heating systems in buildings. It also consists of fixing and preserving air filters, thermostats, belts, bearings, and blower fans.

To succeed as an HVAC service technician, applicants will need to have specific skills and qualities, which employers usually require for qualifying candidates for the role. The most common skills required are excellent communication skills, in-depth knowledge of mechanical aptitude, and some experience at a journey-level maintaining, repairing, and operating HVAC equipment.

While an HVAC maintenance technician can average a salary of $39,558 per year, or $19.02 per hour, there are many opportunities for HVAC maintenance technicians to make more.

What general advice would you give to a hvac maintenance technician?

John Terasconi

Associate Professor, HVAC-R Department Chair, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

The best advice I could give is to stay focused on your job and strive to learn as much as possible. Take the time to truly understand the systems you're working on, continuously develop your skills, and absorb as much knowledge as possible from every source available. The more you know, the more valuable you become.

ScoreHvac Maintenance TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,676

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.17%

Asian 4.55%

Black or African American 10.99%

Hispanic or Latino 19.33%

Unknown 4.25%

White 59.71%

Gender

female 3.26%

male 96.74%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hvac maintenance technician

Explore hvac maintenance technician education requirements

Most common hvac maintenance technician degrees

Associate

26.5 %

Certificate

23.1 %

Diploma

19.3 %

Start to develop specific hvac maintenance technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Plumbing	13.77%
Preventative Maintenance	7.37%
HVAC	6.07%
Customer Service	5.84%
Ventilation	5.06%

Complete relevant hvac maintenance technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hvac maintenance technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a hvac maintenance technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hvac maintenance technician resumes.

Gain additional hvac maintenance technician certifications

Hvac maintenance technician certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific hvac maintenance technician certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for hvac maintenance technicians include EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA) and OSHA Safety Certificate .

More About Certifications

Research hvac maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Maintain centrifugal chillers, pumps, cooling towers, VAV, IVAV, FCU, heat boxes.
Perform routine maintenance on the heating and ventilation system of the hospital as well as the cooling system.
Qualify EPA, OSHA and hazardous materials regulations.
Perform repairs and maintenance on VAV's and electrical equipment.

Prepare your hvac maintenance technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hvac maintenance technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hvac maintenance technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable hvac maintenance technician resume templates

Build a professional hvac maintenance technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your hvac maintenance technician resume.