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JGaircon Oct 23rd 2019 8:27 am

Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
Good morning Guys

I just moved to Miami on K1 visa so I have 3 months to get my affairs in order. I have been a air conditioning engineer for almost 10 years in the UK so I just thought i'd ask everyone's opinion on what would be the best angle to get in to work in the HVAC industry or links on recruitment agencies or do I have to go back to tech school to be recognized in my industry . Any help would be appreciated

ddsrph Oct 23rd 2019 1:23 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
The term engineer can mean different things
here. Do you design large commercial systems for huge buildings or install and repair residential units? In the process of building my own house and designing and installing my own HVAC system I came across a forum that helped me a lot. It’s mainly for pros. HVAC-talk. Post a question about your case and Florida and you will get a lot of advice. Clarify to them what engineer means in this case.

excpomea Oct 23rd 2019 2:04 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
I agree, Engineer would mean someone that designs HVAC systems for homes or industrial facilities.
This would require an engineering degree from a University.
Is this what you were doing in the UK?
A guy that installs and repairs systems would be an HVAC technician.
Also licensed. You would need this to work in Fl, typically obtained via 18 months or so at a technical college.

Rete Oct 23rd 2019 2:05 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
BTW you don't have 3 months to get yourself together. You have 90 days from date of entry. Some months have more than 30 days in it so count carefully. I do hope you speak Spanish.

scrubbedexpat099 Oct 23rd 2019 2:13 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
And then maybe a 6 month wait after you file to adjust before you get work authorisation.

JGaircon Oct 23rd 2019 2:58 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
Thanks a lot I will look at HVAC talk forum

excpomea Oct 23rd 2019 5:56 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
I looked into this 20 years ago and decided to focus on something else.
Here's a breakdown of the various licensing criteria.
Maybe there's a way to just take and pass the certification exams. I can't answer to that.

https://hvactraining101.com/florida-hvac-certificate/

tom169 Oct 24th 2019 10:13 am

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
Once you're work authorized see if there are larger companies struggling to find talent. Here in NC there seems to be such a shortage that companies are paying people to go and learn the trade.

carcajou Oct 24th 2019 12:03 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 
I lived in Miami a long time.

Once you get all of the various legal registrations - work authorisations and professional registration - freelance could be the way to go.

Miami is unbearable without air conditioning between May and October and sometimes in between.

excpomea Oct 24th 2019 6:36 pm

Re: Working in Miami - air conditioning engineer
 

Originally Posted by carcajou (Post 12753352)
I lived in Miami a long time.

Once you get all of the various legal registrations - work authorisations and professional registration - freelance could be the way to go.

Miami is unbearable without air conditioning between May and October and sometimes in between.

To be fair, Miami is unbearable at any time.


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