Job comparison

[Peter_1]

I feel a lot of emotions in this thread and in the thread started by Marc O Brien 'Junior tech'.

Aiyub wrote:
But "which" college includes proper and comprehensive practical, hands on refrigeration experience???Proper equipped workshops where the students disassemble kit, put it together, and covering all aspects of refrigeration and air conditioning.
How do we get there??? I say.......a theory based course is not sufficient........You need a college that includes practicals as well. On leaving you can then in effect work self employed if need be.

Well, I have the same feeling: school is far behind what the industry actually needs, not only in the cooling sector. There is not enough practical training. For example: one Refr school here nearby (Bruges) lets the students follow practical experience in a company for 2 x 1 day. The 1 st day, they only know where they can find the tools in the van. I refused after 3 years to accept anymore students.
And I know a lot so called refr technicians who learned the job but never did the theoretical part... also disappointing. For example: a service technician with almost 20 years experience calls me what orifice he needs to install in an evaporator (this in fact is already for me a not understandable question for someone with 20 years experience) I said "put in a 3". I saw him back later and he said 'well,... i hadn't a 3 but I had a 5 in my van. I put it in and turned the needle of the TEV some turns in. That's the same (???) Or he added another refrigerant in the system because the right one was in the workhouse. Or he didn't know that a Copeland had an oil filter in front of it. (He already visited 4 to 5 times the same client with oil pressure cut-out problems) He was convinced (and tried to convince me too) that this only was an oil drain plug. And I can go on.... But he was the foreman of the service technicians. Unbelievable.


Sighman wrote:
I doubt there could be a course where you could just walk out of it and set yourself up in business, the cost would be phenomenal on both the college course and buying all the equipment you would need...........


What we could use and should benefit the students - and I don't see this as a cheap labor - is young students who can join us for some months to learn the job on site. They have to go to several companies so that they learn in each company something. I really can see/feel after a couple of days if someone will make it.


Chemi wrote: "It seems that everybody takes his winter sleep for the moment, ..... but not for me"


I meant on this forum, more as a joke.
Also we have tons of work now, we even have to refuse now. We are almost complete till summer.


Rbartlett wrote:"why the bloody hell should a woman put herself through all that training overtime hassle cold hot crawling around stupid dark damp places when for the same money she can work 9-5 in a nice clean office??"


Agree completely.


Further: "no it's not the wrong attitude of youngsters it's the wrong attitude of us 'old ones' who have allowed a presenter to get 250,000 for a bit of chatting whilst we struggle to get 30k"


I should be happy if we could give our technicians 30 K. But the huge wages (<200.000 + free car + free mobile phone) like you mentioned, we receiving the bill right now. And it will even become faster and even harder in the very near future I think/feel. First we had the East Europeans countries who took all the blanket to them, now it is the far East who is spreading his arms wide open and saying' Come all over here, we will make it for you at a cost divided by 10 to 20. China is expanding enormous)
This can't hold any longer, IT is collapsing, and all the companies with to big wages are leaving (in Belgium anyway) to countries with much lower wages, other countries are attracting skilled people (we Belgium's can go to Norway for example and get there 1.000 m² ground for free to build a house, reduced taxes..., emigrating in Belgium has never been so big as last years....) Unemployment is now 13% and has to be payed by all those who still have a job!!

And I don't see it as a wrong attitude of us, it was something happening beyond our will.

I once had a problem with my computer (the power source had failed) I called an IT'er to fix the job because it was to busy. He charged me 75 €/hour. I was shocked and I will explain why. I asked the IT'er if he had a small problem with his domestic fridge and he may use my whole stock, equipment...should he he fix his fridge? No, not in 100 years. But I was able to repair my own PC. Who is then most experienced? I won't say I'm smarter but is this correct, that we charge 35 € and they 75 €? We have now someone who charges us 30 € and is really qualified.
Even a plumber who fixes only toilets, lay tubes charges more and for that kind of work you don't need that huge experience. I see in a post of Aiyub that in the UK they have the same problem: plumbers - with all respect for them - charges more then we do and you even don't have to follow difficult courses for that.


Aiyub wrote:"As Richard points out as well...........Would you want your son / daughter working in the fridge industry......for a lousy 30K a year??"


Agree completely. But I always told my technicians and my kids: "do a job that pleases you, where you go whistling to your work, and then look what you earn."
Same as rdocwra said: "At the end of the day, most of us are in this industry not for the money but like doctors, nurses, teachers who also get a raw deal we do it because we enjoy it."

A degree for refrigeration should be very good or an institute where they teach you only the practical side of the job. In the US, there is somewhere a private school for ammonia refrigeration. That is what we need in our countries]

Hey, what are we waiting for?