HVAC · Talent network
This is a first job in HVAC, and shops hiring at this level expect no experience. You start as a helper on a maintenance route or an install crew. On maintenance days you go house to house with a tech doing seasonal tune-ups: changing filters, cleaning coils and drain lines, tightening connections, and writing down the readings the tech takes off the gauges. On install days you carry the old unit out and the new one in, hang duct, and clean up so the homeowner sees a finished job. You learn the names of the parts long before you learn why they fail. Bring work boots and a driver's license. Most shops supply the van and the big tools, and you build up your own hand tools over the first year.
Starting HVAC in Houston means learning humidity first and heat second. A lot of entry work here comes from maintenance agreements: twice-a-year visits where you clean coils, clear condensate drain lines that clog fast in this climate, check refrigerant readings alongside a senior tech, and write up what you found. Those visits are how most beginners learn the equipment before they ever chase a failure alone. Hurricane season runs June through November, and after a big storm, flooded outdoor units and soaked ductwork bring weeks of replacement work. The metro is huge, and Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway set the shape of a working day, so a shop in Katy and a home in Baytown is a long drive twice a day. Pick shops on your side of town, and ask whether you take the van home.
In Houston, the first rung, install tech, pays $40K-55K a year, roughly $19-26 an hour. Once you can work without someone at your elbow, service tech pay is $50K-72K, and lead or senior roles start around $80K+. Market ranges, not an offer. With no experience, expect the low end at first.
No license needed. EPA 608 helps but is not required, and many shops certify you.
From helper, the usual next step is install tech, then service tech once you can find a fault on your own. Along the way you earn EPA 608 certification. Type II covers home air conditioners and is the one most residential work needs, and plenty of shops cover the exam fee.
Openings come from shops across Houston, Pasadena, Sugar Land, Katy and Baytown. Tell us how far you will drive and your profile only goes to shops within it.
Free to apply. A person reviews every application before it reaches a shop, and if yours fits we introduce you to Houston HVAC shops hiring at this level.
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