Career profile for Hvac Assistant

What does a Hvac Assistant do?

Hvac Assistants help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment.

In addition, Hvac Assistants perform duties such as furnishing tools, materials, and supplies to other workers; cleaning work area, machines, and tools; and holding materials or tools for other workers.

What kind of tasks does a Hvac Assistant perform regularly?

Hvac Assistants are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Examine and test machinery, equipment, components, and parts for defects to ensure proper functioning.
Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
Adjust, connect, or disconnect wiring, piping, tubing, and other parts, using hand or power tools.
Tend and observe equipment and machinery to verify efficient and safe operation.
Clean or lubricate vehicles, machinery, equipment, instruments, tools, work areas, and other objects, using hand tools, power tools, and cleaning equipment.
Hold or supply tools, parts, equipment, and supplies for other workers.
Diagnose electrical problems and install and rewire electrical components.
Disassemble broken or defective equipment to facilitate repair and reassemble equipment when repairs are complete.
Position vehicles, machinery, equipment, physical structures, and other objects for assembly or installation, using hand tools, power tools, and moving equipment.
Transfer tools, parts, equipment, and supplies to and from work stations and other areas.
Order new parts to maintain inventory.
Adjust, maintain, and repair tools, equipment, and machines, and assist more skilled workers with similar tasks.
Apply protective materials to equipment, components, and parts to prevent defects and corrosion.
Design, weld, and fabricate parts, using blueprints or other mechanical plans.

The above responsibilities are specific to Hvac Assistants. More generally, Hvac Assistants are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment		Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment

Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

What is a Hvac Assistant salary?

The median salary for a Hvac Assistant is $31,760, and the average salary is $33,960. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Hvac Assistant salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Hvac Assistants earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Hvac Assistants earn less than $21,640 per year, 25% earn less than $26,590, 75% earn less than $39,370, and 90% earn less than $50,030.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Hvac Assistants is expected to change by 7.4%, and there should be roughly 12,900 open positions for Hvac Assistants every year.

Median annual salary: $31,760
Typical salary range: $21,640 - $50,030
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 7.4%

What personality traits are common among Hvac Assistants?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Hvac Assistant are usually higher in their Realistic, Conventional, and Investigative interests.

Hvac Assistants typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Hvac Assistants typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Hvac Assistants typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Hvac Assistant tend to value Relationships, Support, and Independence.

Most importantly, Hvac Assistants strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Hvac Assistants moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Hvac Assistants somewhat value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Hvac Assistants must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Hvac Assistants, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Concern for Others		Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Concern for Others

Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

What education and training do Hvac Assistants need?

Working as a Hvac Assistant usually requires a high school diploma.

Hvac Assistants need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Hvac Assistants

33.9% did not complete high school or secondary school
43.8% completed high school or secondary school
14.8% completed some college coursework
3.7% earned a Associate's degree
2.7% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.3% earned a Master's degree
0.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Hvac Assistants

Hvac Assistants may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as mechanical, building and construction, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Hvac Assistants might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Building and Construction		Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
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.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
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.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Building and Construction

Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

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.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

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.

Important Abilities needed by Hvac Assistants

Hvac Assistants must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Hvac Assistants need abilities such as manual dexterity, arm-hand steadiness, and control precision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Hvac Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Control Precision		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Multilimb Coordination		The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Multilimb Coordination

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

Critical Skills needed by Hvac Assistants

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Hvac Assistants frequently use skills like active listening, critical thinking, and monitoring to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Hvac Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
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.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control		Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

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.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Hvac Assistant

Hvac Assistant

Table of Contents

Would Hvac Assistant be a good fit for you?