HVAC Technical School Valhalla NY

How to Pick the Right HVAC Certificate Program near Valhalla New York

air conditioner condensers in Valhalla NY Now that you have come to a decision on a career as a heating and cooling technician, the next action is to look for an HVAC trade school near Valhalla NY. But with so many to select from, how do you select the best one to obtain the training that you require? A number of future students will make their selection based exclusively on the price of tuition or how close the school is to their home. Although these are significant concerns, they are not the only ones to investigate. A few of the other factors that you need to research 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 examine how to pick an HVAC vocational school, let’s take a look at what a heating and cooling specialist does to become a licensed professional tradesman.

Becoming an HVAC Specialist

Valhalla NY HVAC Tech installing water heater HVAC is an acronym that is extensively used in the business that stands for “Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning”. HVAC contractors provide services for the installation, repair and maintenance of central air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, hot water heaters and heating systems. As professional tradesmen, they are commonly required to be licensed, although each state and regional municipality has its own prerequisites. Attaining professional certification is not required, but an alternative means for Valhalla NY HVAC techs to establish that they are highly skilled and accomplished in their area of specialization. There are multiple acknowledged certifications within the field that are available. Following are some of the significant ones.

North American Technician Excellence (NATE). NATE is a nationally recognized certification for HVAC techs. The certification is attained by passing a proficiency examination and may be acquired in one or more specialties.
HVAC Excellence. This certification makes available both a professional and a master specialist credential. Two years of professional experience together with passing a comprehensive examination are required for the professional level certification. Master specialists need to have three years of experience along with a passing score on the professional level examination. As with NATE, certifications are offered in various specialties.
EPA Section 608. This certification is mandatory for specialists that work with refrigerants. There are three types of certification offered, one for small appliances, and the additional two for low and high pressure refrigerants.

Since licensing might be mandated in your location, and you may also intend to earn certification, it’s imperative that you pick an HVAC vocational school that will train you for both. And since you will most likely be working with refrigerants, make sure that the school you decide on preps you for passing the EPA Section 608 examinations.

HVAC Certificate and Degree Courses

radiator heater in Valhalla NY home There are several alternatives offered for HVAC training in a technical or vocational school. You can obtain 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 courses are longer. A certificate will qualify you for the majority of HVAC positions, particularly if you are licensed and have certification appropriate to the position. The degree training programs may provide a competitive advantage in the job market and will furnish more in-depth training than the certificate programs. Following is a short summary of each option offered near Valhalla NY.

Certificate. Normally requiring a high school diploma, certificate programs are very popular among beginning residential or commercial HVAC professionals. They furnish a solid foundation of skills for job opportunities within the industry.
Associate Degree. The Associate Degree in HVAC program delivers a more exhaustive understanding of heating and a/c systems than the certificate program. Usually requiring 2 years to finish, a number of degrees feature an internship or work-study program.
Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor’s Degree in HVAC is geared more for a career in management as well as business ownership. Some programs require an Associate Degree, while others are a standard 4 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 future career objectives are, in addition to the time and financial resources that you have to commit. One possibility is to start with a certificate or perhaps an Associate Degree program, and after acquiring some experience in the field in Valhalla NY, eventually returning to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree. If this is your strategy, make sure to ask the HVAC tech school you are considering about how their returning student program works.

HVAC Online Classes

Valhalla NY student attending HVAC school online Enrolling in an HVAC program online is one alternative in getting your education and earning a certificate or degree. Almost all schools will require some attendance on campus to take part in practical training. Some also sponsor internship or work-study programs in addition to or in place of practical lab work. But since the remainder of the classes can be attended online, this option may be a more practical solution for some Valhalla NY students that are pressed for time. And a number of online degree programs are more economical than other on campus alternatives. Even travelling expenses from Valhalla and study supplies may be reduced, helping to make schooling more economical. And numerous online schools are fully accredited (more on this later). So if your job or family responsibilities have left you with limited time to attend classes, perhaps an online HVAC degree program will make it less complicated to fit school into your active lifestyle.

Questions to Ask HVAC Training Programs

Questions to ask Valhalla NY HVAC training schools After you have picked the type of certificate or degree that you would like to attain, either on campus or online, you can start to narrow down your selection of schools. As you are probably aware, there are a large number of HVAC technical schools in the Valhalla NY area and all over the USA to pick from. That’s why it is very important to have a list of relevant qualifiers when making school comparisons. As earlier mentioned in our opening paragraph, tuition and location will most likely be the first 2 aspects you will look at. Following are several additional ones that you should investigate before enrolling in your school of choice.

Accreditation. Numerous HVAC trade schools in the Valhalla NY area have attained 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 a specific program, such as HVAC technology. Make sure that the school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping ensure that you obtain an excellent education, it may help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, a number of states require that the HVAC training course be accredited in order to be approved 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 complete the program. A low completion rate may indicate that students were dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It might also indicate that the teachers were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s also essential that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of alumni, which can result in more contacts for the school to use 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 industry, but also that it has the network of Valhalla NY HVAC employers to assist grads secure apprenticeships or jobs.

Apprenticeship Programs. Many HVAC technical programs are taught along with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating trade and vocational schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of HVAC businesses or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have working relationships with local Valhalla NY HVAC professionals. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by providing hands-on training, but it also supplies job opportunities and helps to build 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 up-to-date and what you will be using in the field. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the HVAC technician you are working with regarding what you should be looking for. Otherwise, ask a local Valhalla NY HVAC contracting company if they can provide some suggestions. Also keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Valhalla NY residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there might be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s important that you get as much one-on-one training as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a few of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Speak with some of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to some of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they hold.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are evaluating are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Valhalla NY, confirm that the schools you are reviewing provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family issues.

Considering an HVAC School near Valhalla NY?

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

Valhalla, New York

Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census.[1] The name of the community was inspired by a fan of the opera composer Richard Wagner, and the hamlet is known both for its location as the home of the primary hospital campus of Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College, as well as the burial place of numerous noted people. The name comes from Valhalla, a heavenly abode in Norse mythology.

Valhalla gained its name when it was necessary to name a new U.S. post office in the 19th century, due to the flooding of a pre-existing town and post office, Kensico, which is now underneath the lake created by the Kensico Dam (a part of the New York city water supply system). According to local historians and published works, the wife of a postmaster was a devoted fan of the works of the composer Richard Wagner, and she shared that composer's interest in Norse mythology. Her preference led to the choice of the name Valhalla, after the heavenly paradise of slain warriors in that mythology. It is most generally agreed that Xavier Reiter, a French horn player with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a Wagner devotee, and who played french horn at Wagner's premier of Parsifal at Bayreuth[2], suggested that the post office name of "Valhalla" be adopted. The village still maintains its association with death through noted people who were buried in its cemeteries.

The Kensico Cemetery was founded in 1889 in Valhalla at a time when many of the cemeteries in the city of New York were filling up, and several rural cemeteries were founded near the railroads that served the metropolis. Initially 250 acres (100 ha) in size, the cemetery was expanded to 600 acres (2.4 km2) in 1905, but reduced to 460 acres (1.9 km2) in 1912, when a portion of its land was sold to the neighboring Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

Picking the right HVAC school course is an important first step toward a gratifying career in the heating & cooling trade. You originally came to this website because you wanted more information regarding HVAC Technical School. However, as we have covered in this post, you need to choose an Heating and Cooling training program and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have excellent reputations within the HVAC community. Other features to search for are sufficient hands-on training and state-of-the-art facilities. You need to check out each of the schools in person that you are most interested in to explore the campus and talk with both the current students and faculty. Try to get a feel for the quality of the teaching and the interaction between them. Additionally, ask about scheduling choices and whether night or weekend classes are available if needed. And don’t forget to ask about financial assistance and student loan options as well. If you ask the appropriate questions as we have detailed in our guidelines for comparing schools, you’ll be able to filter your choices so that you can make an informed decision. With the appropriate training, hard work and commitment, you can eventually become a licensed HVAC professional in Valhalla NY.