What is a Hvac Technician?

HVAC technicians work year-round, installing, maintaining, and repairing the machines that regulate temperature and ventilation in buildings. They work on ventilation, heating, and air conditioning. They might be self-employed or work for a larger company that manages businesses or large residential properties.

HVAC technicians also frequently work on maintenance for subsisting equipment. They examine the entire system, recognizing any components that may be malfunctioning or broken. If they find issues, such as leaks, inoperable fans, or other concerns, they make the essential repairs to secure that the system returns to proper working order.

To become an HVAC technician, you may study at a vocational or trade school in a two-year program. The programs will typically include apprenticeships for on-the-job training with experienced HVAC technicians. If you're an entry-level HVAC Technician with less than 1-year of experience, you can expect to earn an average compensation of $15.28 per hour.

What Does a Hvac Technician Do

There are certain skills that many hvac technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, math skills and mechanical skills.

Learn more about what a Hvac Technician does

How To Become a Hvac Technician

If you're interested in becoming a hvac technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 10.0% of hvac technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.4% of hvac technicians have master's degrees. Even though some hvac technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Hvac Technician

Hvac Technician Job Description

HVAC Technicians are skilled professionals who specialize in the provision of services and technical support to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment. They manage the installation, troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance of this equipment, as well as the provision of guidance on how to care for this equipment.

Learn more about Hvac Technician Job Description
Top Hvac Technician Jobs Near You

Hvac Technician Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of maintenance supervisor you might progress to a role such as supervisor eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title project superintendent.

Hvac Technician

Average Salary for a Hvac Technician

Hvac Technicians in America make an average salary of $54,496 per year or $26 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $81,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $36,000 per year.
Average Hvac Technician Salary
$54,496 Yearly
$26.20 hourly
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Roles and Types of Hvac Technician

The role of a hvac technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general hvac technician responsibilities:

  • The hvac mechanic responsible for the operations, repairs, replacement
  • Interact with multiple facility’s and noresco maintenance personnel to assist in troubleshooting system problems. Perform/manage ddc,
  • Studies system blueprints, specifications, and performance data to determine configuration

There are several types of hvac technician, including:

Technician

Role:

To be a technician, you have to know your stuff. Some may refer to you as an expert in your field or maybe people will know you as skilled in an art or craft. Then again, you may just be needed to look after technical equipment.

Your workload as a technician will vary, depending on what you're trained in. You may be needed to set up a new computer system or maybe you'll need to fix an electricity problem. Either way, you'll probably only need to work 40 hours a week.

The degree of education required for this job depends on what you're specific skillset is. Some technicians only need a high school diploma, others may want to complete an associate's program or earn a certificate to help their employment opportunities. There's definitely something for everyone in the field of technicians.

  • Average Salary: $38,045
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Maintenance Technician

Role:

A maintenance technician mainly focuses their time on making repairs to equipment and property structures. When the HVAC unit stops working on the hottest day of the year, the maintenance technicians are the ones who will be called on to save the day.

Generally, maintenance technicians only need a high school diploma to get by in their career, although higher positions in the maintenance technician field may require a two-year program of some sort.

You know how we said that maintenance technicians may be called upon in emergency situations? Well, that may mean you'll be working outside of your normal hours. For the most part, you'll work a normal, full-time schedule. But emergencies may get you out of bed or interrupt your weekend. Just be prepared for those emergencies.

  • Average Salary: $43,293
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Service Technician

Role:

As a service technician, you'll be coming home with a lot of grease on your hands. Unless, of course, you wash your hands before leaving work. Guess where all that grease comes from. Vehicles! That's right, you'll be inspecting and repairing cars, left and right.

Generally, you'll be working in a well-ventilated, well-lit garage of some sort. You'll need to be familiar with automotive issues in a car's computer system, such as figuring out why the check engine light is on. And you'll probably need to know how to change a tire or change the oil. But we're not telling you how to do your job.

Instead of getting your training from us, you should complete a program from a postsecondary institution. Again, not telling you what to do but rather what employers like to see. Once you have the job, you may need to go a step further by becoming certified.

  • Average Salary: $40,379
  • Degree: Associate Degree
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States With The Most Hvac Technician Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active hvac technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where hvac technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Hvac Technician Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,317$67,931
2Florida2,103$45,187
3Texas2,070$49,657
4New York1,462$64,270
5Georgia1,357$49,496
6Illinois1,354$59,909
7North Carolina1,332$49,060
8Pennsylvania1,046$61,631
9Virginia1,018$64,827
10Ohio992$55,949
11Massachusetts913$74,848
12New Jersey892$74,883
13Michigan818$53,148
14Indiana805$53,424
15Colorado774$51,242
16Tennessee755$42,189
17Arizona750$49,664
18Iowa746$48,624
19Minnesota705$60,386
20South Carolina652$47,360
21Missouri639$43,439
22Maryland621$74,064
23Washington588$76,503
24Wisconsin542$50,296
25Oregon442$65,739
26Alabama425$40,443
27Kentucky387$45,141
28Connecticut381$77,369
29Louisiana381$51,588
30Utah361$48,467
31Oklahoma329$45,774
32Nebraska320$46,528
33Kansas300$47,087
34Arkansas270$38,319
35Nevada269$59,097
36Mississippi267$46,531
37Maine252$55,625
38New Hampshire219$57,859
39Delaware167$65,916
40New Mexico155$41,459
41West Virginia153$40,938
42Montana132$51,550
43Idaho126$54,131
44South Dakota125$43,943
45Alaska117$76,272
46Rhode Island101$65,601
47Vermont94$48,643
48North Dakota88$55,554
49Hawaii79$49,136
50Wyoming45$50,664

Hvac Technician Education

Hvac Technician Majors

Heating And Air Conditioning
33.1 %
Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians
21.4 %
Business
7.3 %

Hvac Technician Degrees

Associate

28.7 %

High School Diploma

23.5 %

Certificate

19.6 %

Top Colleges for Hvac Technicians

1. Dunwoody College of Technology

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$22,046

Enrollment

1,294

2. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

3. Northern Michigan University

Marquette, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,729

Enrollment

6,722

4. New Mexico State University

Las Cruces, NM • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,686

Enrollment

11,139

5. Eastern New Mexico University

Portales, NM • Private

In-State Tuition

$6,326

Enrollment

3,347

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

7. University of Alaska Anchorage

Anchorage, AK • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,580

Enrollment

10,482

8. SUNY College of Technology at Canton

Canton, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,389

Enrollment

3,127

9. Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,092

Enrollment

3,583

10. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,880

Enrollment

6,590

Top Skills For a Hvac Technician

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 15.3% of hvac technicians listed hvac on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and math skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Hvac Technician Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Hvac Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Hvac Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Hvac Technician diversity

Hvac Technician Gender Distribution

Male
Male
97%
Female
Female
3%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among hvac technicians, 2.6% of them are women, while 97.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among hvac technicians is White, which makes up 64.3% of all hvac technicians.

  • The most common foreign language among hvac technicians is Spanish at 54.5%.

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Best States For a Hvac Technician

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a hvac technician. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Washington, Alaska, and New Jersey. Hvac technicians make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $77,369. Whereas in Washington and Alaska, they would average $76,503 and $76,272, respectively. While hvac technicians would only make an average of $74,883 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Alaska

Total Hvac Technician Jobs: 117
Highest 10% Earn:
$87,000
Location Quotient:
1.28

$76,272

Avg. Salary

View 117 Hvac Technician Jobs In AK

2. Connecticut

Total Hvac Technician Jobs: 381
Highest 10% Earn:
$122,000
Location Quotient:
1.05

$77,369

Avg. Salary

View 381 Hvac Technician Jobs In CT

3. Delaware

Total Hvac Technician Jobs: 167
Highest 10% Earn:
$106,000
Location Quotient:
1.21

$65,916

Avg. Salary

View 167 Hvac Technician Jobs In DE
Full List Of Best States For Hvac Technicians

How Do Hvac Technicians Rate Their Jobs?

4.5/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Hvac Technician Reviews

5.0
Jan 2020
Pros

Different work environment ,people , equipment types . Technology

Cons

None recognition for excellence

4.0
Mar 2019
Pros

Love the constant change and challenge of the work. Being outside and on the go instead of in a building or office all day.

Cons

As minimum wage increases and prices increase, the wages are not changing for the Technicians already in the field. New come in at a higher rate and as a result the more experienced people are losing money.

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Top Hvac Technician Employers

Most Common Employers For Hvac Technician

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1American Residential Services$89,066$42.82192
2Horizon Services$84,910$40.82130
3Fluor Corporation$76,462$36.7635
4Carrier$72,237$34.7330
5Sears Holdings$56,735$27.28138
6Trane$56,355$27.0948
7Braum's$55,733$26.7958
8EMCOR Group$55,537$26.7045
9KBR$54,736$26.3266
10USAF Police Alumni Association$54,066$25.9961
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Hvac Technician Videos

Becoming an HVAC Tech
A Day in the Life of an HVAC Tech.
Another Day in the Life of an HVAC Technician

Becoming a Hvac Technician FAQs

Do Hvac Technicians Make Good Money?

Yes, HVAC technicians make good money. The average HVAC technician makes around $50,000 a year. However, they can potentially earn upwards of $100,000 based on years of experience, location of position, company, and the number of hours worked.

How Much Do Hvac Technicians Make An Hour?

HVAC technicians make an average of $20 an hour. The range in potential earning for an HVAC tech starts at $14 to $30 an hour. Factors such as location, position type, and years of experience impact how much an HVAC can make an hour.

Is Hvac A Good Career?

Yes, HVAC is a good career. Working in HVAC does not require much educational training, it's easy to get into, it has good earning potential, you can work on the road, jobs are in demand, and you help keep people safe.

Is Becoming An Hvac Tech Worth It?

Yes, becoming an HVAC tech is worth it. An HVAC tech earns decent money and is always in demand. Becoming an HVAC is not difficult, and there are many benefits to working as an HVAC tech.

Have more questions? See all answers to common installation, maintenance and repair questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023