Becoming a Complete Tech

Genry Garcia returns to the HVAC School podcast to talk about what becoming a complete tech really means and entails. He talks about his professional journey and what we must do to address our deficiencies.

Career progression looks a bit different for everyone, with some technicians going to trade school and others starting as helpers and working their way up. We get used to taking readings and start noticing patterns. Then, we start understanding why we see certain pressures. Our experiences are our most valuable tools for becoming better technicians, but they can be reinforced with other learning materials, including books and podcasts.

There comes a point when we acknowledge that we are solid technician but may want to specialize in a certain aspect of the trade. For Genry, that was building performance and humidity control; along the way, he listened to people who knew more than him and took on many jobs that he’d learn from and would keep him humble.

Everything goes back to the basics; we have to be able to solve all the basic problems and understand the fundamentals. Then and only then can we start thinking about building performance and focus on becoming experts at it. However, we also have to assess our ecosystem and see if it would allow us to grow or if it’s more suited for stability. We also have to be willing to be wrong and grow from those mistakes.

Genry and Bryan also discuss:

• The pros and cons of trade school
• Egos and admitting wrongdoing
• Mental models
• Humidity control
• Looking back on previous work with shame
• Building envelopes, pressures, and leakage
• Where and how to learn more about building science and performance
• Self-auditing and the Dunning-Kruger effect

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