The process of finding the right online source for your online or exam will depend on many factors. In fact, the process of finding the right source might be a little like trying to locate Grand Canyon tours in Colorado. There are so many to choose from! The first thing to consider is the level of experience the provider has. Is their service appropriate for the kind of exams that I need to take? Does the provider have what I need in terms of pricing and customer service?
Another factor that will go along way in determining whether or not an online source is appropriate is the provider’s reputation. This will be a major factor in determining whether or not they are even legitimate and if their online service is worth the cost. How do I know that they are legit? How do I find out if their service is worth the money they ask for? These are some of the questions that come to mind.
Fortunately, I have found a way to make sure that I can get the best value for my time and my money. First of all, I signed up for an online HR service to try out. They sent me a couple different online subscriptions. One of them is geared towards a part-time online worker (meaning it only offered one class – four hours). I figured that this wouldn’t be expensive since I was already working full-time.
My next sign that I needed to look into was their site itself. Their website was very outdated. There were no instructions on how to sign up for the online class and they asked for my contact information before they would start my lessons (which I found out later was not true). It was unclear on their hours of operation and I wanted to be sure that they were legit.
The third sign that I needed looked pretty innocent but actually had me checking the site of the online provider more. There was a FAQ on the site that promised the course to take “less than a week”. Wow! How can that be possible? I had spent my entire life working in the field of healthcare, not computer science!
So I started searching around online for people who took online classes for their HVAC certification. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – so many people claiming to be able to give great HVAC training. A couple of sites popped up, which led me to one last question – are any of them real? Well, I searched for testimonies and it seems that there are some. So I just kept my eyes open, double checked and signed up for their free “first hour” course.
I started taking classes and was surprised to see just how helpful the instructors were. They were very patient with me, which I appreciated as I was taking my time getting adjusted to the online format. After getting the hang of things, I was surprised at how well I was doing and felt really accomplished. If you’re looking into taking an online HVAC exam, then this is definitely the route to go.
There are a lot of ways to do online courses. Some are better than others and some are better suited for certain people. So I looked into all of the courses available and narrowed it down to only two. These are the “million dollar” packages that require you to pay thousands of dollars. Personally, I wasn’t comfortable with paying that much for education, but if you’re comfortable paying that much, by all means sign up for that type of online course.
Then there’s the other option, which was actually more enjoyable for me. You can actually “attend” the actual classes online. This was really cool because I actually got to talk to the instructors and ask questions. It’s also nice because you don’t have to drive anywhere and sit through a boring lecture. And speaking of boring, those courses are sometimes very long.
As for me, I did end up taking an online course in the springtime. I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up liking it. The main thing I learned was the structure of the test. If you don’t know what to do before taking it, you’ll have a lot of trouble taking it. They use a four-hour exam block. That would be four hours worth of questions, followed by a skills section and an exam review.
