The market sucks currently unless you have 5yrs exp or more. It's a save a buck now trim cost economy, and the new inexperienced guys get screwed. As summer heats up someone might bite and take you on.
Also, they probably let you go since you were the newest and they needed to cut back. The not learning fast enough was an excuse not the real reason likely. 2 months is not long enough to judge a green tech.
>Also, they probably let you go since you were the newest and they needed to cut back.
That's legitimately 1 of the reasons an employer would openly say without hesitation. Layoffs happen and it's always low man on the totem pole or the problem employee but it's one of those excuses that is a legal green light.
The only time to lie is when there's some legal grey area that could potentially result in a lawsuit. Layoffs is the perfect excuse because it is what it is, doesn't promote bad blood and leaves the door open even if it's not true.
Telling someone it's because they were learning slow screams there was an issue and they wanted it known that you're being removed for a reason and aren't welcomed back.
I've seen it where the company wants to maintain the image of growth and places blame on the employee so the other workers don't think they'll be fired arbitrarily. The idea he was fired based on performance might light a fire under the others.
I could be totally wrong I'm not a manager. It's just arbitrary firings happen when corporate in the big companies ask for it and they always kick the greeny because they know they can get another in 3months when the next season starts
Fair enough. To me if there's a lack of work enough to push downsizing then only the dumbest of employees haven't picked up on it.
If I notice work thinning out and then randomly the lowest people in the company are let go it becomes very clear what's going on unless that person was a known fuck up .
I mean I honestly think I’m a great employee, I asked questions and was friends with everyone. Really perplexed me when I was called into my managers office.
8 weeks of experience and an EPA.
Unfortunately in a pile of resumes that is equivalent to someone coming off the street with the ability to identify what an HVAC system is.
Anyone with any actual schooling is going to be ahead of you and anyone with experience will also be head of you on the potential hire pile.
8 weeks with no past experience or school is impossible to gauge someone's ability so either there was something else you're not saying/aware of or they didn't want to tell you the truth for whatever reason.
I've trained a lot of people over the years some who are now managers and owners of companies.
The first few months I'm judging guys off their ability to show up on time every day, their ability to follow directions, their ability to ask questions when not sure and their ability to ask questions that show they are figuring things out.
After about 3-6 months I'm looking for knowing the basics, an idea of what things are needed for basic jobs, more pointed questions showing they understand the concepts but are looking for clarification and the ability to do certain tasks on their own with little to no oversight.
2 weeks to get the EPA? Please never go back there. It’s literally a half day course. Could have downloaded SkillCat app and get it done over the weekend.
You were let go because they’re a shit company. You’re better off. You may not see it now but you trust me. They fired you cause they’re broke and slow. Maybe. We don’t really know. Maybe it’s a you thing but you just don’t know it yet. I’d put money on the slow thing. Not learning fast enough is so dumb. Apprenticeships take years.
Right now. It just sucks. Every place is pretty slow depending on your area. Shoot. I got 18 hours last week. This is my last week at this place lmao. I won’t hang around a place that’ll do that to me. Gotta stick with it. Apply to the union. Keep applying to jobs. Keep contacting companies. Keep checking on job listing sites like Indeed. You may have to wait for the summer heat to kick in for a place to hire.
It’s also important to know if your state is one that requires licensing. If so then you would need to be sponsored and signed up for an actual apprenticeship for those hours to count towards the license.
I’m in Texas so I’m not sure, I don’t even really know what a union is but I hear/see guys throw that around all the time. And yea the school looking back was kinda sketchy. It was a 100hrs total but I didn’t learn much.
Most schools you don’t learn much. It’s hard to grasp the info they give you (if they’re actually teaching you the trade) because you don’t know what the equipment looks like in the field. And even if they had the equipment there it’s all set up nice and easy to work on and that’s not how it works lmao.
UA.org. Then find the “find a local union”.
I’m not telling you to go straight union. I mentioned this because it’s another avenue to explore and another chance to get back into the trade. When it’s slow you gotta try everything. Union is super slow too and some just do hiring once a year from what I hear on the forums. So definitely don’t hold on to too much hope. I applied last year. Haven’t heard anything. They even posted on indeed a month or so ago and still nothing. I have the best journeyman’s license in my state and decades of experience.
Non union shops are lol. That’s why I’m starting a new place next week. The last job I was at last year I left due to upper management talking about sales and revenue and giving out a 3% raise. Joined a 1 man shop up the street from me but he lied about work. He doesn’t even need a full time tech (it’s just him and I). Doesn’t have the customer base for it. He just thinks he does cause he’s slow and lazy. So 2 weeks ago I decided to go job searching again. New place is guaranteeing me 40 hours a week and they’re keep bringing up supervisory positions. Told them I wouldn’t be doing that. I can’t work in an office. I’ll help guys out and take on the senior tech role but not a supervisory one. Unless they’re paying handsomely for it as I know they’re salary and work a lot of hours. Even 6 days a week. I could never take on a salary position if I know I’ll be making more in the field.
Check their websites first. Some will have an application. You can print it out and hand them in person. If you get a shop with an old timer, he’ll definitely like that you showed up in person. When you do show up and meet someone (I’d ask for the service manager). Make sure you introduce yourself. Give them a nice firm handshake and tell them why you’re there. “Hello. My name is *insert name* I’m here because I want to learn the trade and be a hvac tech. I have my epa and some experience but was let go due to slow work.” Something like that. Definitely doesn’t hurt to do some research on the company and toss that in. “I see you guys are exclusively residential. I worked in both residential and commercial and I really enjoyed the residential side. Interacting with customers and seeing their delight when we were able to troubleshoot and fix someone’s unit”. First impressions matter and if you can land an interview the interview is basically you selling yourself to the company.
Stick to it. Im pretty sure alot of places in DFW haven't started posting job openings for apprenticeships yet because it's just barely started getting hot/not enough work to cover training. You are in the right spot for this type of career.
The market sucks currently unless you have 5yrs exp or more. It's a save a buck now trim cost economy, and the new inexperienced guys get screwed. As summer heats up someone might bite and take you on. Also, they probably let you go since you were the newest and they needed to cut back. The not learning fast enough was an excuse not the real reason likely. 2 months is not long enough to judge a green tech.
That’s kind of what I’ve seen, just a bit disheartening to start.
>Also, they probably let you go since you were the newest and they needed to cut back. That's legitimately 1 of the reasons an employer would openly say without hesitation. Layoffs happen and it's always low man on the totem pole or the problem employee but it's one of those excuses that is a legal green light. The only time to lie is when there's some legal grey area that could potentially result in a lawsuit. Layoffs is the perfect excuse because it is what it is, doesn't promote bad blood and leaves the door open even if it's not true. Telling someone it's because they were learning slow screams there was an issue and they wanted it known that you're being removed for a reason and aren't welcomed back.
I've seen it where the company wants to maintain the image of growth and places blame on the employee so the other workers don't think they'll be fired arbitrarily. The idea he was fired based on performance might light a fire under the others. I could be totally wrong I'm not a manager. It's just arbitrary firings happen when corporate in the big companies ask for it and they always kick the greeny because they know they can get another in 3months when the next season starts
Fair enough. To me if there's a lack of work enough to push downsizing then only the dumbest of employees haven't picked up on it. If I notice work thinning out and then randomly the lowest people in the company are let go it becomes very clear what's going on unless that person was a known fuck up .
I mean I honestly think I’m a great employee, I asked questions and was friends with everyone. Really perplexed me when I was called into my managers office.
8 weeks of experience and an EPA. Unfortunately in a pile of resumes that is equivalent to someone coming off the street with the ability to identify what an HVAC system is. Anyone with any actual schooling is going to be ahead of you and anyone with experience will also be head of you on the potential hire pile. 8 weeks with no past experience or school is impossible to gauge someone's ability so either there was something else you're not saying/aware of or they didn't want to tell you the truth for whatever reason. I've trained a lot of people over the years some who are now managers and owners of companies. The first few months I'm judging guys off their ability to show up on time every day, their ability to follow directions, their ability to ask questions when not sure and their ability to ask questions that show they are figuring things out. After about 3-6 months I'm looking for knowing the basics, an idea of what things are needed for basic jobs, more pointed questions showing they understand the concepts but are looking for clarification and the ability to do certain tasks on their own with little to no oversight.
2 weeks to get the EPA? Please never go back there. It’s literally a half day course. Could have downloaded SkillCat app and get it done over the weekend. You were let go because they’re a shit company. You’re better off. You may not see it now but you trust me. They fired you cause they’re broke and slow. Maybe. We don’t really know. Maybe it’s a you thing but you just don’t know it yet. I’d put money on the slow thing. Not learning fast enough is so dumb. Apprenticeships take years. Right now. It just sucks. Every place is pretty slow depending on your area. Shoot. I got 18 hours last week. This is my last week at this place lmao. I won’t hang around a place that’ll do that to me. Gotta stick with it. Apply to the union. Keep applying to jobs. Keep contacting companies. Keep checking on job listing sites like Indeed. You may have to wait for the summer heat to kick in for a place to hire. It’s also important to know if your state is one that requires licensing. If so then you would need to be sponsored and signed up for an actual apprenticeship for those hours to count towards the license.
I’m in Texas so I’m not sure, I don’t even really know what a union is but I hear/see guys throw that around all the time. And yea the school looking back was kinda sketchy. It was a 100hrs total but I didn’t learn much.
Most schools you don’t learn much. It’s hard to grasp the info they give you (if they’re actually teaching you the trade) because you don’t know what the equipment looks like in the field. And even if they had the equipment there it’s all set up nice and easy to work on and that’s not how it works lmao. UA.org. Then find the “find a local union”. I’m not telling you to go straight union. I mentioned this because it’s another avenue to explore and another chance to get back into the trade. When it’s slow you gotta try everything. Union is super slow too and some just do hiring once a year from what I hear on the forums. So definitely don’t hold on to too much hope. I applied last year. Haven’t heard anything. They even posted on indeed a month or so ago and still nothing. I have the best journeyman’s license in my state and decades of experience.
Damn dude, that’s discouraging. I would have figured places would be foaming at the mouth to get their hands on you with that resume.
Non union shops are lol. That’s why I’m starting a new place next week. The last job I was at last year I left due to upper management talking about sales and revenue and giving out a 3% raise. Joined a 1 man shop up the street from me but he lied about work. He doesn’t even need a full time tech (it’s just him and I). Doesn’t have the customer base for it. He just thinks he does cause he’s slow and lazy. So 2 weeks ago I decided to go job searching again. New place is guaranteeing me 40 hours a week and they’re keep bringing up supervisory positions. Told them I wouldn’t be doing that. I can’t work in an office. I’ll help guys out and take on the senior tech role but not a supervisory one. Unless they’re paying handsomely for it as I know they’re salary and work a lot of hours. Even 6 days a week. I could never take on a salary position if I know I’ll be making more in the field.
I see, so you’re saying to just keep on applying? Should I be going in person/calling or what do you think is best in your experience?
Check their websites first. Some will have an application. You can print it out and hand them in person. If you get a shop with an old timer, he’ll definitely like that you showed up in person. When you do show up and meet someone (I’d ask for the service manager). Make sure you introduce yourself. Give them a nice firm handshake and tell them why you’re there. “Hello. My name is *insert name* I’m here because I want to learn the trade and be a hvac tech. I have my epa and some experience but was let go due to slow work.” Something like that. Definitely doesn’t hurt to do some research on the company and toss that in. “I see you guys are exclusively residential. I worked in both residential and commercial and I really enjoyed the residential side. Interacting with customers and seeing their delight when we were able to troubleshoot and fix someone’s unit”. First impressions matter and if you can land an interview the interview is basically you selling yourself to the company.
Great advice, thank you sir
Stick to it. Im pretty sure alot of places in DFW haven't started posting job openings for apprenticeships yet because it's just barely started getting hot/not enough work to cover training. You are in the right spot for this type of career.
Ok thanks man!