HVAC Schools Near Me in Lehighton PA 18235

How to Select an HVAC Certification Course near Lehighton Pennsylvania

Lehighton PA HVAC tech servicing AC compressor Now that you have come to a decision on a career as a heating and air conditioning technician, the next action is to find an HVAC trade school near Lehighton PA. But with so many to select from, how do you choose the best one to receive the training that you need? Many future students will make their choice based entirely on the price of tuition or how near the school is to their residence. Although these are significant factors to consider, they are not the only ones to evaluate. Some of the other factors 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 other benchmarks will be discussed in more detail later within this article. But before we discuss how to choose an HVAC training program, let’s look at what a heating and air conditioning contractor does to become a licensed professional tradesman.

How to Become an HVAC Contractor in Lehighton PA

Lehighton PA HVAC tech servicing industrial furnaces HVAC is an acronym that is extensively used in the industry that stands for “Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning”. HVAC contractors provide services for the installation, repair and maintenance of central air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, water heaters and heating systems. As skilled tradesmen, they are generally mandated to be licensed, though each state and local municipality has its own criteria. Obtaining professional certification is not compulsory, but an optional means for Lehighton PA HVAC technicians to demonstrate that they are exceptionally qualified and accomplished in their area of specialization. There are a number of recognized certifications within the field that are available. Below are some of the important ones.

North American Technician Excellence (NATE). NATE is a nationally acknowledged certification for HVAC techs. The certification is earned by passing a proficiency examination and can be acquired in one or more specialties.
HVAC Excellence. This certification makes available both a professional and a master specialist credential. Two years of field experience together with passing a comprehensive exam are required for the professional level certification. Master specialists need to have three years of experience as well as a passing score on the professional level examination. Similar to NATE, certifications are made available in several specialties.
EPA Section 608. This certification is necessary for technicians that handle refrigerants. There are 3 forms of certification offered, one for small appliances, and the additional two for low and high pressure refrigerants.

Because licensing might be required in your location, and you may also desire to acquire certification, it’s imperative that you choose 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 decide on readies you for passing the EPA Section 608 exams.

HVAC Certificate and Degree Schools

Lehighton PA HVAC contractor installing residential water heater There are a variety of alternatives available for HVAC training in a technical or vocational school. You can earn a certificate, an Associate Degree, or a Bachelor’s Degree. Obtaining a certificate will take the least amount of time, usually achieved in as little as six months, though some programs are longer. A certificate will train you for most HVAC positions, particularly if you are licensed and have certification appropriate to the position. The degree training programs might provide a competitive edge for securing employment and will furnish more comprehensive training than the certificate programs. Below is a short summary of each option offered near Lehighton PA.

Certificate. Generally requiring a high school diploma, certificate programs are very popular among beginning commercial or residential HVAC technicians. They furnish a strong foundation of skills for employment within the industry.
Associate Degree. The Associate Degree in HVAC program delivers a more extensive background of heating and a/c systems than the certificate program. Usually requiring 2 years to finish, a number of degrees include an internship or work-study program.
Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor’s Degree in HVAC is tailored more towards a career in management or even business ownership. Some programs call for an Associate Degree, while others are a standard four year program. In addition to learning how to service and maintain heating and air conditioning systems, you will also learn how to design them.

Picking the ideal credential program will be dependent on what your long term career aspirations are, together with the time and money that you have to invest. One approach is to start with a certificate or even an Associate Degree program, and after acquiring some experience in the trade in Lehighton PA, later going back to earn a Bachelor’s Degree. If this is your strategy, make sure to ask the HVAC tech school you are looking at about how their returning student program works.

HVAC Online Courses

attending HVAC Training School Online in Lehighton PA Choosing an HVAC program online is one possibility to obtaining your education and earning a certificate or degree. Almost all schools will require some attendance on campus to take part in practical training. Many also offer internship or work-study programs in addition to or as an alternative to practical lab work. But since the rest of the classes may be attended online, this approach may be a more convenient solution for many Lehighton PA students that are pressed for time. And many online degree programs are more economical than other on campus alternatives. Even driving expenses from Lehighton and study materials may be lessened, helping to make education more affordable. And numerous online schools are fully accredited (more on this later). So if your career or family responsibilities have left you with limited time to attend classes, perhaps an online HVAC degree program will make it less complicated to accommodate school into your busy schedule.

Questions to Ask HVAC Certification Courses near Lehighton PA

After you have decided on the type of degree or certificate that you would like to obtain, either on campus or online, you can start to narrow down your list of schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many HVAC technical schools in the Lehighton PA area and across the Country to choose from. That’s why it is extremely important to have a checklist of key qualifications when making school comparisons. As formerly mentioned in our opening paragraph, location and tuition will most likely be the first 2 variables you will take into consideration. Following are some additional ones that you will want to explore before enrolling in your school of choice.

Accreditation. Numerous HVAC technical schools in the Lehighton PA area have acquired either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for example HVAC technology. Confirm that the program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping make certain that you obtain a superior education, it may help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, a number of states mandate that the HVAC training course be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.

High Completion Rates. Ask the HVAC schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage or portion of students who enroll in and complete the program. A low completion rate could suggest that students were unhappy with the course and dropped out. It may also mean that the instructors were not qualified to train the students. It’s similarly essential that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of graduates, which may result in more contacts for the school to utilize for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only affirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Lehighton PA HVAC employers to help grads secure apprenticeships or employment.

Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of 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 inside their network of Heating and Cooling contractors or labor unions. Check if the schools you are comparing have referring relationships with local Lehighton PA HVAC companies. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by supplying practical training, but it also furnishes job opportunities and helps to form relationships in the regional HVAC professional community.

Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be using on the job. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the HVAC technician you are working under concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Lehighton PA HVAC company if they can provide some pointers. Additionally keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Lehighton PA residence. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there might be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you get as much one-on-one instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Speak with some of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, speak with some of the teachers and find out what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they hold.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to attend classes at night or on weekends near Lehighton PA, check that the programs you are reviewing offer those options. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Finally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Attending HVAC School near Lehighton PA?

Lehighton, Pennsylvania

Lehighton (/li'hɑitən/) is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States, 77 miles (124 km) north of Philadelphia, and 54 miles (87 km) south of Scranton. In the past, it developed early industries because of water power from the Lehigh River. With the location of a repair facility here and its regional operations, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became for years a major employer of thousands of people from the area. Post-World War II railroad and industry restructuring led to job and population losses.

At the time of the first European's encounters with historic American Indian tribes, this area was part of the shared hunting territory of the Iroquoian Susquehannock and the Algonquian Lenape (also called the Delaware, after their language and territory along the Delaware River) peoples, who were often at odds.[5] Relatives of the peoples of New England and along the St. Lawrence valley of Canada, the Delaware bands occupied much of the coastal mid-Atlantic area in Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and lower eastern New York, including Long Island.[5] The Susquehannock confederacy's homelands were mainly along the Susquehanna River, from the Mohawk Valley in lower New York southerly to the Chesapeake and Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, but may have ranged into the 'empty lands'[6] of West Virginia, Eastern Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania.[5] The Dutch and Swedes first settled the Delaware Valley, and found the area north of the Lehigh Gap to be lightly occupied, probably by transients, but traveled regularly by the Susquehannock. This tribe traveled quite a bit according to the American Heritage Book of Indians,[5] including being described in lofty terms by John Smith when a band visited the new Jamestown, Virginia colony.[5] In the decades of the Beaver Wars in the mid-1600s, the Susquehannocks conquered and made the Lenape a tributary tribe — and also nearly inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the powerful Iroquois Confederacy,.[5] Shortly thereafter, the Susquehannocks suffered a reversal, falling first to epidemic disease that raged for three years which killed off potentially 90% of their population,[5] and a series of battles on most of their frontiers as various enemies took advantage.[5] This vacated the southeastern and central Pennsylvania regions for the Delaware peoples. However, all tribes were thereafter displaced westwards by continued colonial growth. Delaware dominance at the time of European colonization is why William Penn's settlers adopted Lenape Lenki (Delaware) names for landscape features, and less than a handful of Susquehannock names.

Lehighton was built on the site of the German Moravian Brethren's mission station "Gnadenhütten" (cabins of grace) founded in 1746. It was established as a mission to the Lenape by Moravians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, lower on the Lehigh River.[7] The German name was transcribed as "Canatanheat" by missionary John Brainerd.[8]

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Enroll in the Right HVAC Trade School near Lehighton PA

Choosing the ideal HVAC training program is an important first step toward a fulfilling career in the heating and air conditioning industry. As we have discussed in this article, you should choose a technical school and a degree or certificate program that are both accredited and have exceptional reputations within the HVAC community. Other things to search for are sufficient practical training and modern facilities. You need to visit each of the schools personally that you are most interested in to inspect the campus and talk with both the current students and faculty. Attempt to get a feel for the quality of the instruction and the interaction between them. Additionally, inquire about scheduling options and whether evening or weekend classes are offered if needed. And don’t forget to ask about financial aid and student loan options as well. If you ask the proper questions as we have laid out in our guidelines for evaluating schools, you’ll be able to narrow down your options so that you can make an educated decision. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, you can eventually become a licensed HVAC professional in Lehighton PA.