Jonathan Hauser’s life was not complete. A master plumber, he wanted to enhance his career, meet his life goal of earning a degree and find opportunities to enrich his future. He accomplished all three in one step – enrolling in Collin College’s Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) program.
“I work for one of the largest mechanical contractors in the DFW area,” said Hauser, a superintendent for United Mechanical. “There is longevity in HVAC. It is always evolving with new science, machinery and ways to help the environment. The field is growing, and the pay is great. The company I work for has excellent benefits and 401(k)s. They also pay for 100 percent of my classes, as long as I get A’s and B’s.”
Hauser works alongside HVAC technicians as a master plumber. In the future, he hopes to go into project management and oversee both plumbing and HVAC.
“If I become a supervisor, I want to know the science behind HVAC and be able to review architectural and mechanical drawings,” he said. “The Collin College program is perfect. It is an opportunity for me to earn a degree while I am working full time.”
By next summer, Hauser plans to earn certifications as well as an associate of applied science degree while maintaining his status on the college’s Dean’s List.
“The way Professor Sanders runs this program it keeps you interested,” he said. “He keeps it constantly changing. There is always something fun to learn about. This program is packed with information that you learn in a short period of time.”
Hot Program
Collin College HVAC Lead Professor Brian Sanders said classes in the college’s new HVAC program fill quickly.
“We have already fully enrolled our entry-level courses for the fall 2018 semester,” Sanders said. “We have even taken on four extra students for each of the five classes to try to meet the demand for training. Employee requests from local businesses are coming in daily, with roughly 10 job openings for every one new student entering this program.”
Currently, the college’s HVAC classes are held at Princeton ISD. In 2020, these classes will be held in the new Collin College Technical Campus in Allen.
“We have designed a phenomenal set of six dedicated HVAC labs that will be capable of training up to 200 students each semester at the new Technical Campus,” he said. “This campus will serve as a hub for Collin County to meet the high demand for a skilled, local workforce.”
In-demand Career
“Collin County has a shortage of quality technicians, and all major A/C companies are always looking for quality techs,” said Steve Trout, service manager for Bill Joplin’s Air Conditioning and Heating.
“Students who attend this program will be well educated in the HVAC industry by some of the best instructors in Texas,” Trout said. “When they graduate they won’t have any problems finding a quality company to work for. Whether it’s residential, commercial, refrigeration or industrial, they will be well rounded in all aspects of HVAC.”
Trout’s company offers an apprentice program for employees with an associate degree or certification from a college or trade school. This is a great opportunity for HVAC student Max Castillo, who said the information he learned in his classes helped him answer questions in a job interview at his new place of employment, Bill Joplin’s Air Conditioning and Heating.
“I hope to help people who need air conditioning here in TX,” said Castillo. “Collin College is the best place to take HVAC classes because the professors have a lot of knowledge and take time to explain what each little part does.”
Castillo enjoys working with his hands and chose this career because with the Texas heat he is sure he will always have a job.
“When you read information, you get a picture in your mind, but with hands-on training it makes so much more sense because you get to see how it works. That is really cool,” he added.
Great Option for Veterans
Jordan Rechsteiner is mechanically inclined. He served as a nuclear biological and chemical weapons defense chief in the Marines. Before enrolling in the college’s program, he was a junior HVAC technician. Today, he is a service technician who is planning to earn HVAC certifications and an associate degree.
“This experience opened doors for me at A-US Air,” Rechsteiner said. “It has made my life so much better. My salary increased $50,000 because I am now with A-US Air, the third largest company in the Metroplex for residential AC. My boss is glad that I am taking classes at night, and he is pleased with my skillset.”
Rechsteiner is gaining cutting-edge classroom knowledge and technical skills, the hallmark of a consummate technician. Best of all, these tools travel with him to any job, even a future business of his own.
“I am pursing an associate degree because of the technical expertise,” Rechsteiner said. “Until you understand the engineering and physics aspects you can’t know everything about HVAC. I did my research on Collin College. This is one of the most comprehensive programs around. We have a small teacher-to-student ratio, so when I have an issue during the day at work, I can discuss it that night in class. This program offers terminal learning. It is the highest you can go, unless you want to engineer and design these systems.”
For more information about HVAC classes at Collin College visit www.collin.edu.
Reprinted with permission of Allen Image