How To Become A Refrigeration Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a refrigeration lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average refrigeration lead salary is $60,931. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an heating and air conditioning major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a refrigeration lead. Refrigeration leads with a Certified Assistant Refrigeration Operator (CARO) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 20,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRefrigeration LeadUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $60,931

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 2.10%

Black or African American 8.24%

Hispanic or Latino 15.75%

Unknown 4.50%

White 68.16%

Gender

female 5.63%

male 94.37%

Age - 50

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 - 50

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a refrigeration lead

Explore refrigeration lead education requirements

Most common refrigeration lead degrees

Associate

33.3 %

High School Diploma

22.2 %

Bachelor's

22.2 %

Start to develop specific refrigeration lead skills

Skills	Percentages
HVAC	27.04%
Condensers	15.92%
OSHA	14.47%
Evaporators	13.20%
PSM	11.63%

Complete relevant refrigeration lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New refrigeration leads 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 refrigeration lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real refrigeration lead resumes.

Research refrigeration lead duties and responsibilities

Manage, plan, and schedule HVAC and BMS shutdowns.
Manage all aspects of ice makers, compressors, evaporators, condensers, and relate ammonia equipment.
Maintain ammonia refrigeration system, boiler operations, logical controls, machine repair.
Help all locations with PSM/RMP development improvement and training.

Get refrigeration lead experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a refrigeration lead. The most common roles before becoming a refrigeration lead include maintenance technician, refrigeration technician team lead and service technician.

Prepare your refrigeration lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your refrigeration lead 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 refrigeration lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable refrigeration lead resume templates

Build a professional refrigeration lead 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 refrigeration lead resume.