HVAC Schools Near Me in Elk Grove Village IL 60007

How to Find the Right HVAC Certification Course near Elk Grove Village Illinois

Elk Grove Village IL HVAC tech servicing AC compressor Now that you have decided on a career as a heating and air conditioner professional, the next step is to find an HVAC technical school near Elk Grove Village IL. But with so many to pick from, how do you decide on the best one to get the training that you require? A number of prospective students will make their selection based entirely on the cost of tuition or how near the school is to their residence. While these are significant factors to consider, they are not the only ones to investigate. Just some of the other factors that you need to investigate are the graduation completion rates of the HVAC schools, their reputations, and if they are accredited by professional trade organizations. These and other criteria will be covered in more detail later in this article. But before we tackle how to select an HVAC training program, let’s look at what a heating and a/c technician does to become a licensed qualified tradesman.

Becoming an HVAC Technician in Elk Grove Village IL

Elk Grove Village IL HVAC tech servicing industrial furnaces HVAC is an acronym that is commonly used in the trade that stands for “Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning”. HVAC techs provide services for the installation, repair and maintenance of central air conditioners, furnaces, boilers, water heaters and heating systems. As professional tradesmen, they are generally required to be licensed, although each state and local municipality has its own prerequisites. Obtaining professional certification is not required, but a voluntary means for Elk Grove Village IL HVAC specialists to demonstrate that they are exceptionally qualified and knowledgeable in their area of specialization. There are multiple acknowledged certifications within the industry that are offered. Below are some of the important ones.

North American Technician Excellence (NATE). NATE is a nationally acknowledged certification for HVAC techs. The certification is attained by passing a competency examination and may be acquired in one or more specialties.
HVAC Excellence. This certification makes available both a professional and a master specialist credential. 2 years of field experience together with passing a comprehensive exam are needed for the professional level certification. Master specialists must have 3 years of experience in addition to a passing result on the professional level examination. As with NATE, certifications are made available in various specialties.
EPA Section 608. This certification is mandatory for technicians that work with refrigerants. There are three forms of certification obtainable, one for small appliances, and the other two for low and high pressure refrigerants.

Considering that licensing may be mandated in your location, and you may also wish to earn certification, it’s important that you enroll in an HVAC trade school that will prepare you for both. And since you will probably be working with refrigerants, make certain that the program you select preps you for passing the EPA Section 608 exams.

HVAC Degree Training Programs

Elk Grove Village IL HVAC contractor installing residential water heater There are a variety of alternatives offered for HVAC instruction in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a certificate, an Associate Degree, or a Bachelor’s Degree. Acquiring a certificate will take the lesser period of time, typically accomplished in just 6 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 related to the position. The degree training programs might provide a competitive edge in the job market and will deliver more comprehensive training than the certificate programs. Below is a brief summary of each credential offered near Elk Grove Village IL.

Certificate. Usually requiring a high school diploma, certificate programs are preferred among beginning residential or commercial HVAC technicians. They provide a solid foundation of skills for employment within the industry.
Associate Degree. The Associate Degree in HVAC program supplies a more extensive knowledge of heating and a/c systems than the certificate program. Normally taking two years to finish, many degrees incorporate an internship or work-study program.
Bachelor’s Degree. The Bachelor’s Degree in HVAC is suited more for a career in management or even business ownership. Some programs require an Associate Degree, while others are a traditional four year program. In addition to mastering how to service and maintain heating and cooling systems, you will also learn how to design them.

Choosing the right credential program will be dependent on what your long term career aspirations are, together with the time and money that you have to commit. One option is to begin with a certificate or perhaps an Associate Degree program, and after gaining some experience in the trade in Elk Grove Village IL, subsequently returning to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree. If this is your tactic, make sure to ask the HVAC technician school you are considering about how their returning student program works.

HVAC Online Courses

attending HVAC Training School Online in Elk Grove Village IL Enrolling in an HVAC program online is one approach in attaining your education and earning a degree or certificate. Almost all schools will call for some attendance on campus to complete hands on training. Some also offer internship or work-study programs in addition to or in place of practical lab work. But since the remainder of the classes may be participated in on the web, this approach may be a more practical solution for many Elk Grove Village IL students that are short on time. And a number of online degree programs are less costly than other on campus options. Even commuting expenses from Elk Grove Village and study materials can be minimized, helping to make education more budget-friendly. And numerous online schools are fully accredited (more on this later). So if your job or family commitments have left you with limited time to attend classes, maybe an online HVAC degree program will make it less complicated to accommodate school into your active lifestyle.

Questions to Ask HVAC Schools near Elk Grove Village IL

As soon as you have picked the type of degree or certificate that you would like to attain, either on campus or online, you can begin to limit your selection of schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many HVAC trade schools in the Elk Grove Village IL area and throughout the USA to pick from. That’s why it is imperative to have a list of key qualifications when making school comparisons. As earlier stated in our opening paragraph, tuition and location will most likely be the first two factors you will consider. Following are several additional ones that you should explore before enrolling in your school of choice.

Accreditation. Numerous HVAC vocational programs in the Elk Grove Village IL area have acquired either a regional or a national accreditation. They may earn Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for instance HVAC technology. Make sure that the school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping make certain that you acquire an excellent education, it can assist in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are often unavailable for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, some states mandate that the HVAC training program be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.

High Completion Rates. Ask the HVAC schools you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage or portion of students who enroll in and finish the program. A lower completion rate could indicate that students were dissatisfied with the course and quit. It might also suggest that the teachers were not qualified to train the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive directory of alumni, which may result in more contacts for the school to utilize for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only validate that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Elk Grove Village IL HVAC employers to assist graduates acquire apprenticeships or jobs.

Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous HVAC training programs are taught together with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating trade and vocational schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of HVAC companies or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are comparing have referring relationships with local Elk Grove Village IL HVAC professionals. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by providing practical training, but it also provides job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the area HVAC professional community.

Modern Facilities. Make certain that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be working with in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the HVAC technician you are working under regarding what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Elk Grove Village IL HVAC contracting company if they can provide some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you are able to move, the school must be within driving distance of your Elk Grove Village IL residence. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there might be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you get as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on some of the classes so that you can see how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Speak to some of the students and get their feedback regarding class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with a few of the teachers and learn what their level of expertise is and what certifications or degrees they hold.

Flexible Scheduling. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Elk Grove Village IL, check that the programs you are reviewing offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, find out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family issues.

Attending HVAC School near Elk Grove Village IL?

Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Elk Grove Village is a village located in northeastern Illinois adjacent to O'Hare International Airport and is a near northwest suburb, touching the city of Chicago. It is one of the Chicago metropolitan area's principal villages due to its large industrial park, located on the eastern border of the village. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small portion in DuPage County. The population was 33,127 at the 2010 census.[4] As the name suggests, Elk Grove Village is home to a small herd of elk kept in a grove at the eastern edge of the Busse Woods forest preserve for which the grove is named. Elk are not native to the area but were brought by train from Montana by an early resident, William Busse, in the 1920s.[citation needed] The elk are currently maintained by the Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff and the Busse Woods Forest Preserve wildlife biologists.[5]

Elk Grove Village is home to the largest industrial park in North America.[6] Over 3,600 businesses are located in its 5.4-square-mile (14 km2) business park adjacent to O'Hare International Airport. The community is served by several Interstate highways including I-90, I-290/I-355/Route 53 combination, and the Elgin–O'Hare Expressway.

Elk Grove Village is also home to Alexian Brothers Medical Center (ABMC) hospital, which is the largest employer in the community with over 2,200 workers. There are a number of other well-known corporations including Apple Vacations, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Illinois Tool Works (ITW), ADP, CitiGroup, Symons, and Pepsi Cola Distribution. The headquarters of United Airlines were in the unincorporated area of Elk Grove Township until it moved to downtown Chicago; the Elk Grove office is still in use as United's Operations Center.

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Pick the Right HVAC Trade School near Elk Grove Village IL

Picking the right HVAC training course is a crucial first step toward a gratifying career in the heating & cooling industry. As we have discussed in this article, you should pick a school and a certificate or degree program that are both accredited and have excellent reputations within the HVAC field. Other factors to look for are sufficient hands-on training and state-of-the-art facilities. You need to check out each of the schools personally that you are most interested in to inspect 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. Also, inquire about scheduling choices and whether night or weekend classes are offered if needed. And remember to inquire about financial aid and student loan options also. If you ask the appropriate questions as we have laid out in our checklist for comparing schools, you’ll be able to filter your choices so that you can make an educated decision. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, you can eventually become a licensed HVAC specialist in Elk Grove Village IL.