HVAC

What HVAC Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, hvac majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for HVAC Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for HVAC Majors

A major in hvac prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for HVAC Majors

Hvac majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a HVAC Major?

People with a hvac degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Electromechanical Engineering Technologists	5.2%	$63,200
Electronics Engineering Technologists	5.2%	$63,200

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to HVAC

Some degrees associated with hvac may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for hvac careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	41.2%
Some College Courses	8.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	23.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	17.0%

Online HVAC Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	129	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	5	0
Associate’s Degree	72	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to HVAC

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to hvac.

Major	Number of Grads
Water Quality & Wastewater Treatment Management & Recycling Technology	820
Environmental Engineering Technology/Environmental Technology	263
Hazardous Materials Management & Waste Technology	121
Other Environmental Control Technologies	110

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.