Heating and Air Schools Lititz PA

How to Find the Right Heating and Cooling School near Lititz Pennsylvania

air conditioner condensers in Lititz PA Once you have decided on a career as a heating and air conditioning specialist, the next action is to find an HVAC technical school near Lititz PA. But with so many to select from, how do you decide on the best one to get the training that you need? Some potential students will make their decision based solely on the price of tuition or how near the school is to their residence. While these are relevant considerations, they are not the only ones to take into account. Just some of the other details that you need to look into are the graduation completion rates of the HVAC schools, their reputations, and if they are accredited by professional trade organizations. Those and additional benchmarks will be addressed in more detail later within this article. But before we explore how to select an HVAC training program, let’s look at what a heating and cooling contractor does to become a licensed skilled tradesman.

Becoming an HVAC Technician

Lititz PA HVAC Tech installing water heater HVAC is an acronym that is extensively used in the industry that stands for “Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning”. HVAC technicians provide services for the installation, repair and maintenance of air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, water heaters and heating systems. As skilled tradesmen, they are typically mandated to be licensed, however every state and local municipality has its own requirements. Earning professional certification is not compulsory, but a voluntary means for Lititz PA HVAC specialists to demonstrate that they are exceptionally qualified and experienced in their area of specialization. There are multiple respected certifications within the industry that are available. Here are a few of the significant ones.

North American Technician Excellence (NATE). NATE is a nationally acknowledged certification for HVAC technicians. The certification is attained by passing a competency exam and can be earned in one or more specialties.
HVAC Excellence. This certification makes available both a professional and a master specialist credential. Two years of field experience as well as passing a comprehensive examination are needed for the professional level certification. Master specialists need to have three years of experience in addition to a passing result on the professional level exam. As with NATE, certifications are offered in various specialties.
EPA Section 608. This certification is required for technicians that work with refrigerants. There are three forms of certification available, one for small appliances, and the other two for low and high pressure refrigerants.

Since licensing could be required in your location, and you may also wish to obtain certification, it’s imperative that you pick an HVAC trade school that will prepare you for both. And since you will most likely be dealing with refrigerants, make certain that the program you choose prepares you for passing the EPA Section 608 exams.

HVAC Certificate and Degree Courses

radiator heater in Lititz PA home There are a number of choices offered for HVAC training in a technical or vocational school. You can attain a certificate, an Associate Degree, or a Bachelor’s Degree. Acquiring a certificate will take the lesser amount of time, usually accomplished in as little as 6 months, however some courses are longer. A certificate will qualify you for most HVAC positions, particularly if you are licensed and have certification applicable to the position. The degree programs may provide a competitive advantage for securing employment and will deliver more in-depth training than the certificate programs. Following is a short explanation of each credential offered near Lititz PA.

Certificate. Usually requiring a high school diploma, certificate programs are preferred among entry level residential or commercial HVAC technicians. They provide a strong foundation of skills for job opportunities within the trade.
Associate Degree. The Associate Degree in HVAC program provides a more detailed background of heating and a/c systems than the certificate program. Typically taking 2 years to complete, a number of degrees incorporate an internship or work-study program.
Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor’s Degree in HVAC is tailored more towards a career in management as well as business ownership. Some programs call for an Associate Degree, while others are a conventional four year program. In addition to mastering how to service and maintain heating and cooling systems, you will also study how to design them.

Picking the appropriate credential program will be dependent on what your long term career aspirations are, in addition to the time and financial resources that you have to commit. One possibility is to begin with a certificate or perhaps an Associate Degree program, and after gaining some experience in the trade in Lititz PA, subsequently returning to earn a Bachelor’s Degree. If this is your strategy, be sure to ask the HVAC tech school you are considering about how their returning student program works.

HVAC Online Schools

Lititz PA student attending HVAC school online Attending an HVAC program online is one alternative in obtaining your training and earning a degree or certificate. Almost all schools will call for some attendance on campus to complete hands on training. Some also sponsor internship or work-study programs in addition to or as an alternative to practical lab work. But since the remainder of the classes can be attended online, this option may be a more convenient solution for some Lititz PA students that are short on time. And many online degree programs are less expensive than other traditional choices. Even commuting expenses from Lititz and study materials can be minimized, helping to make schooling more budget-friendly. And many online programs are fully accredited (more on this later). So if your work or family responsibilities have left you with little time to attend classes, perhaps an online HVAC degree program will make it less complicated to fit school into your active lifestyle.

Questions For HVAC Schools

Questions to ask Lititz PA HVAC training schools Once you have chosen the type of certificate or degree that you wish to obtain, either online or on campus, you can start to limit your selection of schools. As you are probably aware, there are numerous HVAC vocational schools in the Lititz PA area and throughout the USA to pick from. That’s why it is extremely important to have a list of important qualifications when making school comparisons. As formerly stated in our opening paragraph, location and tuition will probably be the first 2 variables you will take into consideration. Following are some additional ones that you should research before enrolling in your school of choice.

Accreditation. Numerous HVAC vocational programs in the Lititz PA area have acquired either a regional or a national accreditation. They can receive Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, for example HVAC technology. Verify that the school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping guarantee that you get a superior education, it can help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are often not available for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, many states require that the HVAC training course be accredited for it to qualify for licensing.

High Completion Rates. Ask the Heating and Air Conditioning schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and finish the course. A lower completion rate might indicate that students were unhappy with the course and quit. It may also suggest that the instructors were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of alumni, which may produce more contacts for the school to utilize for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only validate that the school has a good reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Lititz PA HVAC employers to assist graduates acquire apprenticeships or jobs.

Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous HVAC trade programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and technical programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of HVAC contractors or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are reviewing have referring partnerships with local Lititz PA HVAC specialists. An apprenticeship not only offers a rewarding experience by supplying hands-on training, but it also supplies job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the local HVAC professional community.

Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be instructed on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the HVAC tech you are working with concerning what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Lititz PA HVAC company if they can provide some suggestions. Additionally bear in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Lititz PA residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there may be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor some of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Speak to a few of the students and get their feedback concerning class sizes and instruction. Last, speak with a few of the teachers and learn what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they hold.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are assessing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Lititz PA, confirm that the schools you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, find out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Considering an HVAC School near Lititz PA?

Perhaps you are considering enrolling in an HVAC training program in the Lititz Pennsylvania area. If so, you may find the following background information about the location of your new school campus both interesting and informative.

Lititz, Pennsylvania

Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named after a castle (mentioned form of name is German; Czech name of this castle is Litice) in Bohemia near the village of Kunvald where the ancient Bohemian Brethren's Church had been founded in 1457. The roots of the Moravian Brethren's Church date back to the ancient Bohemian Brethren's Church.

For a century, only Moravians were permitted to live in Lititz. Until the middle of the 19th century, only members of the congregation could own houses; others were required to lease. The lease-system was abolished in 1855, just five years before the beginning of the Civil War. More information can be found in the book A Brief History of Lititz Pennsylvania by Mary Augusta Huevener, published in 1947.

During a part of the American Revolution, the Brethren's House, built in 1759, was used as a hospital. A number of soldiers died and were buried here. Lititz is also home to Linden Hall School, the oldest all-girls boarding school in the United States. Located adjacent to the Moravian Church on 47 acres (19 ha) of land, Linden Hall School was founded by the Moravians in 1746, a decade before the borough was incorporated.[3]

Choosing the ideal HVAC training course is a critical first step toward a rewarding career in the heating and air conditioning trade. You originally came to this website because you wanted more information regarding Heating and Air Schools. However, as we have covered in this post, you should select an Heating and Cooling technical school and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have excellent reputations within the HVAC trade. Other factors to search for are sufficient practical training and modern facilities. You should visit each of the schools in person that you are most interested in to inspect the campus and talk with both the faculty and current students. Try to get a feel for the quality of the training and the interaction between them. In addition, ask about scheduling choices and whether night or weekend classes are available if needed. And remember to ask about financial assistance and student loan options also. If you ask the right questions as we have detailed in our guidelines for comparing schools, you’ll be able to narrow down your choices so that you can make an informed decision. With the right training, hard work and commitment, you can ultimately become a licensed HVAC contractor in Lititz PA.