Entry level HVAC technician

Entry level HVAC technician: Phoenix

The job, day to day

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 out in Phoenix

Starting HVAC in Phoenix means learning in the hardest conditions the trade has. A beginner's first summer is often spent on install crews and maintenance routes, much of it on rooftops and in attics on afternoons well past 105 degrees, so crews start at first light and good shops build water and shade breaks into the day. That is the main thing to be honest with yourself about before you apply. Monsoon season, roughly July through September, adds dust storms and lightning that knock equipment out and fill the call board. The upside is volume: systems run so hard here that a new tech sees a lot of equipment, fast. The Valley spreads along I-10 and the Loop 101 and 202 freeways, so pick shops on your side of town, with Mesa, Tempe and Chandler to the east and Glendale to the west.

Starting pay

In Phoenix, the first rung, install tech, pays $46K-62K a year, roughly $22-30 an hour. Once you can work without someone at your elbow, service tech pay is $58K-79K, and lead or senior roles start around $85K+. Market ranges, not an offer. With no experience, expect the low end at first.

What you need on day one

No license needed. EPA 608 helps but is not required, and many shops certify you.

Where the next few years go

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.

Towns in range

Openings come from shops across Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe and Chandler. Tell us how far you will drive and your profile only goes to shops within it.

Applying

Free to apply. A person reviews every application before it reaches a shop, and if yours fits we introduce you to Phoenix HVAC shops hiring at this level.