Women and technology: A perfect fit
Women have made great strides in both civil rights and professional achievements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Women now make up over half of the American labor force, earn the majority of the nation's bachelor's degrees, are accepted to JD and MD programs at the same rate as men, are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies - and, are running for president.
However, there's still one career area where men vastly outnumber women: technical trades. Far fewer women than men pursue refrigeration and HVAC certification; heating and cooling certification; or training in electrical technologies each year. The fact that women choose not to work in technical fields accounts for a huge part of the male/female income disparity (aka the "Women earn 75 cents for every dollar a man earns" statement). Careers in HVAC or refrigeration, heating, cooling, and electrical work are arenas of opportunity for women to earn high, steady pay, make a great living on which to raise a family, and pursue a long-lived and meaningful career with little training time or expense. Getting an refrigeration and HVAC certification or a certificate in electrical technologies is a short process, and these certifications can even be completed while the student works full- or part-time.
The Refrigeration School, Inc. encourages women to enroll in one of the HVAC/R or electrical technologies programs. In fact, each year, only between 1 and 2 percent of our 300-odd graduates are women! Women who pursue certificate or associate degree programs tend to enroll in career fields like administrative office work or childcare, where starting wages are low and advancement is rare. With any type of office job, too, there is the added danger of losing one's job as a result of outsourcing work to cheaper foreign labor.
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HVAC and refrigeration careers: Opportunity for all
HVAC/R and electrical careers have significantly higher starting salaries, abundant opportunities for advancement, and little chance of corporate downsizing. Job prospects for refrigeration and HVAC technicians are expected to be stellar, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with new opportunities being created faster than opportunities in other career fields. In HVAC/R, job growth is a result of the American building boom and the new, Earth-friendly HVAC technologies constantly being developed. In electrical work, job opportunities abound because the field simply does not have enough trained and qualified technicians to handle work.
Another reason technical careers like electrical technologies or HVAC and refrigeration are great choices for women is because they offer stellar benefits packages that private office jobs rarely can top. According to news source Reuters, 18 percent of American women have no health insurance; this average is even higher for minorities. Technical careers, however, offer benefits packages that rival those offered at government or higher education careers. When you consider that a significant number of office or childcare jobs offer nothing in the way of benefits, the advantages of technical careers become even more apparent.
Refrigeration and HVAC certification — a step on the road to entrepreneurship
The U.S. Department of Labor reported in late 2002 that women owned over 25 percent of non-farm businesses in America; that number has rise since then. Refrigeration, HVAC, and electrical technology careers allow more women to become business owners because of the possibilities for advancement in these fields. As women work their way up in a refrigeration, HVAC, or electrician career, they have opportunities to become supervisors, masters, or even business owners. Compare this potential for growth to the advancement opportunities at your average day-care center or office temp job!
Many women have good people skills, along with strong mathematical, reasoning, and English language abilities. People who have a blend of logic, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills are most likely to succeed and thrive in HVAC careers. Many workers value the strong verbal, diplomatic, teamwork, and interpersonal skills that female bosses possess, and all of these skills must be strong to be a successful leader in a refrigeration, heating, or cooling career. Teamwork is especially important in a small business, because each HVAC/R or electrical technician hired must "wear many hats." Women who are unsure of what career direction to take after high school, or who want to make a major, mid-career change might find refrigeration, HVAC, or electrical technologies to be a perfect fit, especially if they aspire to leadership positions.
Opportunities also exist for women in refrigeration, HVAC, and technology sales and marketing. Women who enjoy extensive interpersonal interaction, job tasks that are persuasive in nature, and sales will enjoy these kinds of careers. Or, if women wish to delve further into the technical and mathematical aspects of these careers, they can pursue two- or four-year programs of study in electrical engineering or mechanical engineering. In these fields, as well, women are underrepresented, though the salaries are among the highest entry-level salaries of all occupations requiring degrees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
At RSI, we encourage all women interested in our technical career training programs leading to electrical or refrigeration and HVAC certification to seek more information via e-mail at info@rsiaz.edu or by calling our general information line at (602) 275-7133.
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Not all of the photos on
this website were taken at the school; they are meant to be
illustrative of some of the career activities.
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