Houston, as a part of the greater Woodlands and Sugar Land area in Texas, had the 6th highest employment levels out of all U.S. metropolitan areas in 2021 for HVAC technicians, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).1 A relatively high rate of employment is just one reason why HVAC could be a good career choice in Houston. If you are thinking about starting HVAC training, 2022 could be a great year to begin.
Job Outlook for HVAC Techs in Houston 2022 and Beyond
While the job growth for HVAC techs across the entire country over the next decade is projected to be about average at 4%, in Texas that job growth rate is an estimated 16%, or 4 times higher than the national average, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.2
New job openings in the HVAC field are likely in Texas, with around 3,500 new job openings expected in the next 10 years.2 Some areas of Texas like Austin are seeing a shortage of HVAC technicians, according to Spectrum Local News. The story from Spectrum also says companies are even working with local schools to train more future employees to help meet demand.
Why Choose HVAC
High rates of employment obviously can’t be the only reason why anyone chooses one career over another.
If you spend around 40 hours a week working at a job, hopefully those hours are spent doing activities that are rewarding, fulfilling, and enjoyable to you, for the most part. The field of HVAC can be a great career path for people who love to think mechanically, solve problems, and do a variety of physical, hands-on tasks.
Have You Considered a Career in the Skilled Trades?
Fill out the form to recieve a no obligation info packet.
Daily Variety
Whether you end up going into residential or commercial HVAC, the daily workload is likely to contain a variety of different tasks. If the thought of sitting in an office all day bores you, you might enjoy the regular physical activity of being an HVAC tech.
Residential HVAC: Service technicians might be making house calls to residences and businesses throughout the day to assess and diagnose HVAC problems. Then, each situation will need a solution, whether that’s repair or replacement. Every day is likely to be different.
Commercial HVAC: Commercial HVAC workers might be working on longer-term industrial-scale projects with a team. This might involve traveling to industrial job sites. The scope of the work might be a bit larger, and there could be new and exciting challenges every day.
Job Satisfaction
A large part of an HVAC tech’s job is to diagnose and repair malfunctioning HVAC systems. If fixing mechanical equipment is something that gives you a sense of satisfaction for a job well done, HVAC could be a good fit for you. Often, it’s the HVAC tech’s responsibility to examine a broken system and draw upon their mechanical knowledge to determine the best way to solve the problem. If you enjoy troubleshooting and going through the steps to assess, diagnose, plan, and execute a fix-it solution for intricate machine systems, then the field of HVAC could provide a great deal of job satisfaction.
Helping People
Heating and cooling systems can provide comfort for people during the hot summer months and the cold winter season. However, if an air conditioner or heater is not working, then people can be uncomfortable or even possibly at risk for health problems, such as overheating during a heat wave. Therefore, if you enjoy helping people and making their lives better, you may enjoy the personal satisfaction from your customer interactions. Being able to fix someone’s A/C on a hundred-degree day can make you feel pretty good!
Job Security
Because home heating and cooling, as well as commercial HVAC, are a normalized and regular part of everyday life for people in the U.S. and other industrialized nations, there is likely always going to be a need for HVAC service technicians, mechanics, and installers. Businesses and homeowners rely on their comfort systems to keep temperatures stable indoors, so the job security outlook for HVAC techs is reliable, according to the BLS.
During the pandemic, HVAC workers were considered essential workers because so much of the nation’s food supply and medicine depends on reliable refrigeration and indoor cooling. Pretty steady job security could be an attractive part of the HVAC industry.
Get Started with HVAC Training in Houston, Texas
HVAC is a specialized field that requires mechanical knowledge of heating and cooling systems. These days, most employers prefer job candidates who already have some degree of experience working with complex HVAC machinery. This experience can be gained by enrolling in an accredited vocational training program to learn HVAC skills.
If you are in the Houston, Texas, area, Tulsa Welding School (TWS) offers the following HVAC training programs:
These programs include a mixture of lecture and hands-on learning in HVAC labs with experienced instructors. Call 1-855-806-4921 for the most current enrollment dates.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for more information if you are excited about the prospect of starting an HVAC training program!
Additional Sources
1https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes499021.htm
2https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/Occupations/occupation-profile.aspx?keyword=Heating,%20Air%20Conditioning,%20and%20Refrigeration%20Mechanics%20and%20Installers&onetcode=49902100&location=Houston,%20TX
This blog has been labeled as archived as it may no longer contain the most up-to-date data. For a list of all current blog posts, please visit our blog homepage at https://www.tws.edu/blog/
Get Started