pay your dues......

[bigg dogg]

I work for one of the largest home services company in ontario,we are constantly hiring gasfitters,usally new guys with not much experience,g2 or g3 is the only requirement. Almost all of them wash out in the first two weeks. It seems that as soon as guys pass that gasfitters exam they think they are entilted to that $20 an hour and a new service truck. the truth is any pimpley faced kid from tim hortons can pass that exam with the right information in his hand.
 Dont anyone take this the wrong way its just my opinion,but if you are going to enter this trade you must not expect any more than $14 or $15 an hr, you must come prepaired to do every crappy job, work long hours and yes weekends, you will sweat in summer and you will freeze in the winter. Summer will be the most bussiest time of your life, you will likley go home in darkness , just in time to go to bed and get up and do it all over again.

Now lets talk about the rewards if you stick with it, this whole time that you had your nose to the grind stone, you have become not only a gasfitter but a plumber, an electrican, an airconditioning tech,and learned some carpender's skills. You will have meet thousands of different type of people, some you will call your friends, you will have learned exellent customer skills,you will be able to navigate your work area better than a cab driver,you will become a roofer(an expert with ladders) you will become a sheet metal guy, people will seek you out for your knolwedge,and yes you will earn that $20 or $30 an hour.

 Remember guys ,plumbers are just plumbers,drywallers are drywallers.


            We are HVAC gasfitters................just my opinion.... cheers!!!!

[Admin]

What you say is true!  This trade can be rewarding, but it's not something you can learn quickly.  People expect alot more than what's waiting for them when they start the trade.  The starting wage is usually low until the employer can see how skilled the person is as an installer or service tech.  It all depends on the person and the company as to how fast they learn.

[Custantin]

Very true indead. Im graduating from a 3 year program in about 2 weeks at Humber College. I have my G3 and geting my G2 in may. I am not expecting a high wage and I care more about the experience right now than the money.

[rmuntz]

Don't take this as being harsh but I have to ask, after 3 years in school (I'm assuming HVAC) what exactly do you come out with. Does the program gear towards heating, residential a/c, commercial refrig ?? Is the focus after school to work in the field or sales/engineering ? As an employer i'd like to know if this has added value to the apprenticeship.

Thanks

[Custantin]

I come out with G2, OBT3 license, 7 HRAI licenses for design, ODP card, Gas Tite, 636 certification, 2 college diplomas.

[rmuntz]

Well done

[blitz]

I work for one of the largest home services company in ontario,we are constantly hiring gasfitters,usally new guys with not much experience,g2 or g3 is the only requirement. Almost all of them wash out in the first two weeks. It seems that as soon as guys pass that gasfitters exam they think they are entilted to that $20 an hour and a new service truck. the truth is any pimpley faced kid from tim hortons can pass that exam with the right information in his hand.
 Dont anyone take this the wrong way its just my opinion,but if you are going to enter this trade you must not expect any more than $14 or $15 an hr, you must come prepaired to do every crappy job, work long hours and yes weekends, you will sweat in summer and you will freeze in the winter. Summer will be the most bussiest time of your life, you will likley go home in darkness , just in time to go to bed and get up and do it all over again.

Now lets talk about the rewards if you stick with it, this whole time that you had your nose to the grind stone, you have become not only a gasfitter but a plumber, an electrican, an airconditioning tech,and learned some carpender's skills. You will have meet thousands of different type of people, some you will call your friends, you will have learned exellent customer skills,you will be able to navigate your work area better than a cab driver,you will become a roofer(an expert with ladders) you will become a sheet metal guy, people will seek you out for your knolwedge,and yes you will earn that $20 or $30 an hour.

 Remember guys ,plumbers are just plumbers,drywallers are drywallers.


            We are HVAC gasfitters................just my opinion.... cheers!!!!

so who are you working for right now?

[JF]

Hey, Ive been a Gas Fitter for somtime, and I agree with your statment, I am just a young guy myself, and I have done and still somtimes do the crap jobs, long hours, etc... but like you said everyone has to start somewhere, and it always the bottom. This last year and half I have seen more guys getting into this tarde then ever, (my guess, is cause of the economy downturn,  ie:car industires) and one common thread is that they all think they will make the big bucks right off the bat out of school, and they dont want to do any work for it,(most of the time).  So to those "new guys" to the trade, know your place with the advacnced journey men out there, give them the respect they derserve, learn as much as you can from them, and put in a decent days work.  and you'll be there too some day.   thanks