Category: Career

When you have a breakdown of your HVAC system, the person you should call is an HVAC technician. Why the technician? HVAC technicians are experts in assembling and repairing HVAC systems. They have the knowledge, skills, and experiences of doing this work. While you might think it’s an easy step to becoming an HVAC technician, it takes time and dedication to go through the technician course and practicing the same to become perfect. This article will explain some steps on how to become an HVAC technician. Before we discuss the steps, let’s look at their roles, skills, and certifications.

Personality and Skills of an HVAC Technician

Before becoming a fully accredited HVAC technician, you have to learn the programs and have the skills of carrying out an HVAC system repair. You should have full mechanical skills, be physically fit, and have a detail-oriented personality. It would be best to be reliable to your clients and sell them service contracts. You have to explain to the clients why repairs and maintenance are necessary for their HVAC equipment. You also have to be well-spoken to explain the system’s details to clients who don’t understand such.

The Role Requirements of an HVAC Technician

First, an aspiring technician must have the necessary education then undergo the training to become an HVAC technician. After this education, a coming-up technician needs to attend a technical school or college to learn the HVAC program and get the certificate. Conforming to an article at https://hvacprograms.net/, it’s essential to find the best HVAC training accredited by organizations such as HVAC Excellence. There are also online programs that will prepare you for the apprenticeship. The shorter programs can last for only six months, while the longer ones can extend up to two years, making you earn an associate degree. 

Once you are done with training, you need to acquire a professional license before working as an HVAC technician. Where does one get these licenses? A state HVAC licensing authority will provide the license after approving you are fit for the job. While getting a license should be a straightforward thing, some, like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) license, require training in handling and disposing of harmful chemicals. Some licenses will also require a technician to service a few items, while others are universal – the technician can work on several cooling components.

How to Become an HVAC Technician

While some individuals will opt for on-job training to acquire the skills, experts recommend undergoing the full HVAC technician training program to acquire all the skills. Studying under the approved HVAC programs makes you more competitive in the job market. Here is an example path of becoming a fully accredited HVAC technician.

Step 1: Get a High School Diploma – Takes four years

Any individual wanting to become a professional HVAC technician must study at least to a high school level. They should majorly concentrate on physics, chemistry, and other physical sciences to gain the much-needed knowledge. During their free time or after-school, they can assist the well-established HVAC technicians, thus gaining experience.

Step 2: Join an Accredited HVAC Program – Six months to two years

After high school, an aspiring technician can apply for a certificate, associate, or the advanced bachelor’s accredited HVAC program and comprehensively study the course. The candidates will learn refrigeration, load calculations, industry code standard, and energy management through this coursework. Other areas include air quality and conditioning and ductwork and piping systems. Here, the aspiring technicians will learn both theory and practical work and, at times, will work with already established technicians to understand the course better. You need to choose an accredited technical school or college for this program.

Step 3: Complete an Apprenticeship – Three years to five years (Optional)

It’s not a requirement to undergo this apprenticeship program. However, many upcoming technicians prefer taking the apprenticeship to hone their training and educational programs. There are specific companies that offer the apprenticeship, including the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Air conditioning Contractors of America. You will get paid while on apprenticeship, depending on the company.

Step 4: Become a Technician and Work in the Field – one to two years

It’s essential acquiring a stand-alone experience after doing the apprentice program. This stage confirms if you are job-ready and also exposes you to the technicians’ field. You could skip this step if you attended a job-ready program.

Step 5: Get a Professional Certificate and Start Working

To start practicing fully as an HVAC technician, you need to get a professional certificate from the approved bodies, including HVAC Excellence and Refrigeration Engineers and Technicians Association. 

The above are the simple steps of becoming an accredited HVAC technician. From the list, the steps are straightforward. You only need to choose the right technical school or college, get down for the program, and earn a practicing certificate. It’s a process that requires dedication to become the best.

Job interviews are usually more stressful than we expect them to be. Even when people have the best resume, when their experience is great for the position, they can still do not so well because they were not prepared, or they were nervous. Just like in college, it is sometimes more important to know what kind of questions you can expect, rather than trying to know everything. Of course, you need to know how to do your job, but knowing what answers to give to certain questions can be crucial for hiring.

When it comes to investment banking interviews, there is a set of questions that is almost always asked. These can range from your education, previous experience, future goals, and so on. Things like researching about the company and having a high-quality resume are important as well. To help you prepare for the interview for your dream job, we have made a list of tips that will help you stand out among your fellow colleagues. 

Know their company well

To be able to show why you are the right person for the position you are applying for, you must know what the interviewer would like to hear. When you know what the investment banking company’s vision is, it is easier to show them why you are the right person for the job. Learn what all they have achieved, and what their general strategies are. 

When you talk about your previous experiences, your education, your future goals, try to fit them into their vision. Talk about all the things that have made you suitable for their company. Of course, talk about other things as well, but, make sure you don’t go too far from what they would like to hear. Everyone likes when their new colleague fits in well. It is good for them to see that you have done your research, but make sure you are not overdoing it. 

Make a good resume

Most people think that making a resume is easy. You just have to write your information down, right? Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Writing a good CV can take a lot of time and effort before you have the perfect representation of yourself. The biggest mistake people make when it comes to resume writing is having one for everything. Since your resume is the first thing your interviewers will see, you must stand out. 

What is even more important is putting relevant information for the position you are applying for at the moment. As the Tier 1 Wall Street guide says, if you don’t present your information well, and if you don’t present the right information, you might not even get the interview. When you apply for an investment banking job, make your resume as analytical and banking-based as possible. 

Prepare a good self-pitch

When your interviewers ask you to tell them about yourself, it is important to have a short and effective story. This story shouldn’t be more than 200-300 words long, which is around one and a half to two minutes. In the beginning, tell them where you are from, what university or business school you went to. For this part, say only one or two sentences. 

In the next part tell them why you became interested in investment banking in the first place. You can talk about a specific person, event, or experience that has made you choose it as your career path. Then, mention what experiences have helped you gain the skills for the job you want. In the end, say why their company and group fit into your plans for the future. 

A good-self pitch can be crucial for your interview. Since this is usually the first thing they ask you, you can catch their attention and make them more interested in hiring you right from the start of the interview. 

Technical questions

For these types of questions, there are no shortcuts. You have to put the energy and the time into studying relevant topics. If you can’t answer the technical questions well, the interviews can assume that you are not interested in the field. If you fail at this part of the interview, they will think that you are not analytically capable.

Make sure you cover topics such as valuation metrics and multiples, accounting concepts, equity value, and enterprise value, accounting concepts, and discounted cash flow analysis. Study M&A and merger models, as well as leveraged buyouts and LBO models. Depending on the company, you might want to go through some other things too. That is why it is so important to research the firm that you want to work at.  

“Fit” questions

All questions that are not related to company, market, or deal discussions, fall into the category of “fit” questions. These include “what is your biggest strength?”, “What is your biggest weakness?”, “what was your biggest failure?” and so on. You get the gist. The main point of these questions is for the interviewers to see how you see yourself. They want to know how you handle stressful and unwanted situations. 

For example, if they ask you what your greatest strengths are, some acceptable answers would be the ability to work long hours, leadership skills, attention to detail, financial/analytical skills, and so on. For the biggest weaknesses, you can say: second-guessing yourself and not always speaking up when somebody makes a mistake. 

Whatever negative thing you say, make sure you tell them how you have improved compared to the past. Nobody is perfect, we are all humans after all. But, the interviewers will want to hear that you like working on fixing your flaws. 

Preparing for any kind of interview will demand work. Make sure you do everything you can to prepare for it, instead of improvising. If you show up to the interview packed with motivation, knowledge, and confidence, you will increase your chances of getting the job majorly.  Research what the company does, how they do it, and what their goals are to prepare for a specific interview. Make sure you have studied the technical topics, know how to present yourself, and you will be good to go!

Options are great because they are highly flexible and can help you manage risk. When you’re trading stocks, it can be a little worrisome as the price may fluctuate. Luckily, options let you bet on whether you think the stock price will rise or drop, and instead of buying the stock immediately, options are contracts that allow you to trade stocks at the strike price or a price that is agreed upon Sell the contract to a different investor, and the option contract can be abandoned and left to expire with no further financial commitment. 

Here is what you need to know if you want to trade options right away.

Options Provide Multiple Options

Unlike what many people believe, trading options are not only for people who don’t want to commit or jump right into stock trading. If you are looking to profit from price movements during the short-term and trade among contracts, options trading is great.

 However, they can also be quite advantageous if you are a long-term stock investor. Buying a stock requires more initial investment than buying an option; options also give investors the time and ability to observe the flow of things. Since the price is locked, investors can lower their risk potential and are free from the obligation to purchase. “Call” options allow you to purchase shares at a set price later on. This is especially beneficial if you are interested in a company and have reason to believe that its stock price will be rising. If the price does rise, you will be buying the stock at a lower price than what it’s selling for, and if it doesn’t, the losses will be reduced to the contract’s price. 

Options also let you control the risks on your current stock positions. If you are worried about how the volatility of a company’s stock in the short-term can impede your investment returns, you can buy a “put” option for protection from losses. This option allows you to sell a certain number of shares at a set price. If the stock prices do drop, then this option would limit your losses and the returns from selling would counterbalance some of the losses. 

Choosing a Broker

Selecting the right broker is one of the most important things to keep in mind when starting your options trading quest. According to this list in this Trusted Broker Review, you have plenty of options to choose from: you should choose a broker that will provide you with educational resources, such as access to webinars, online courses on options trading, and individual guidance. Throughout your options trading journey, you should always try to get as much advice and knowledge as you can. Ask your broker if they offer paper trading accounts before getting started with the real deal. A broker’s customer service should also be considered. Choose a broker that has reliable customer service, whether it’s through a live chat, phone support, or email. 

You should also find out if they’re only available during the weekdays, have certain working hours, or offer 24/7 support. Take a look at their trading platform and find out if it’s functional and easy to use. Assess the tools that the platform and broker offer, their costs, and their breadth. Opt for quotes feed that are updated often, basic charting, as it will help you choose your entry and exit points, the possibility of assessing risks and rewards, and screening tools. 

Know the Requirements

Opening an options trading account may require more money than setting up a regular brokerage account. Before being granted permission to start trading options, brokers generally opt to know more about potential investors. This is because the process of predicting multiple factors can be complex. If you want to start trading options, you might want to brush up on the requirements. Investment objectives, including growth, capital, income, trading experience, personal financial income, like total net worth, liquid net worth, annual income, and employment information, and the types of options that you opt to trade should be provided to the potential broker. Then, the broker will assign you an initial trading level that allows you to trade specific options. Likewise, as explained above, you should put effort into evaluating the prospective broker. 

When you are trading options, you are provided with a great level of flexibility and risk management. Options trading is typically characterized by the ability to trade at a strike price with minimal to no obligations. They offer a wide array of benefits to short-term traders and long-term investors alike.