In pursuit of a trade North Dakota State College of Science student enters

HVAC/R career

By Andrew Weeks

Andrew Bouressa might have started college a little later than what others normally do, but he knows he is where he needs to be at this stage of his life.

That place is North Dakota State College of Science, where he is seeking a degree in HVAC/R — or heating, ventilation, air condition and refrigeration.

When he graduates this May he will be trained to install, maintain and repair indoor climate-control systems.

Bouressa, 28, didn’t always know what he wanted to do for a career, but time and experience taught him this pursuit was a logical choice for him.

“I was already in a trade after failing to go to college when I was younger,” he said. “I walked into the manufacturing field and worked there for five or six years and it just got to a point where I either had to commit to that field or move along. I decided I was going to take my chances of going someplace else and doing something different.”

Bouressa, originally from Alexandria, Minn., moved to Breckenridge, Minn., when his wife took a job at Breckenridge High School. It was closer to NDSCS, which turned out to be a boon for his schooling opportunities. He went online and found what he was looking for.

Breckeniridge is within an hour’s drive of NDSU.

He said he wanted to pursue something that would allow him to use critical thinking skills but also work independently. He also wanted a job that paid decently, which would allow him to meet his financial obligations and help make getting up for work in the mornings easier.

“I was looking for something that had a wide variety of niches to fall into,” he said. “This field is so diverse and that’s attractive to me.”

He started his official schooling in fall 2019, and is excited to graduate in May. The future looks much brighter than it did before he started school.

“After getting into the program I realized just how big the HVAC/R industry is. There are a lot of jobs that fall under that umbrella,” he said. “There are companies that strictly do commercial refrigeration for grocery stores, there’s industrial install services and residential install services; there’s air balancing. We’re just learning about hydronic systems. There are certain companies that do building automation systems. … There are just a lot of things you can do.”

Something else that makes his graduation all the more exciting for him is that Bouressa already has been offered a job, in which he will get a mix of hands-on installation and servicing experience. He said he’s still planning his long-term goals.

“There are a lot of opportunities and things that I could do and that’s what makes it exciting,” he said. “I don’t have to decide right now. I can figure out what I like, and then move forward into those positions.”

His experience at NDSCS has been positive, and he said instructors have been especially helpful, as have members of the school’s financial aid department.

“The staff is really supportive,” he said. “If you have questions, they’re really good about getting you that information. They don’t come down on you for not knowing something that they think maybe you should already know. They’re all about the experience for you and supporting students. … Compared to some other folks I’ve talked to coming out of other technical programs, it seems like ours has a lot more depth to the concepts that we go over.”

His advice for other students considering pursuing the same field: “I would have to say, master the basics. That’s probably the most important thing, at least in our program. Most of the complicated stuff can be shaved back down to the basics. If you have a really good base knowledge of how things are supposed to go, you’re going to be able to work forward from that point. Things don’t get too complicated as long as you have that base understanding.”

Bouressa is already talking like a pro, someone who’s been in the field for at least a few years. He said he’s learned better what his strengths and weaknesses are and he has learned it takes time to hone a craft.

“All these concepts were new to me walking in the door. I didn’t know anything about electricity. I didn’t know anything about the refrigeration cycle,” he said. “That’s why I said that base knowledge is crucial, because you can’t really move beyond that until you understand it. For me it was learning new terms and new concepts.”

The soon-to-be graduate didn’t cut any corners when he said what he is most excited about in the near term: a paycheck. But he also is excited about something with deeper meaning.

“I want to be an expert in the trade,” he said. “I want to be well-rounded, to learn the trade, and be a real tradesman. I want to be an expert in my field and to keep learning, engaging in those training opportunities and growth opportunities.”