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Pro-Level Tools That Show Youre Skilled

Name: Pro-Level Tools That Show Youre Skilled
Uploaded: 2025-07-14T14:45:06Z
Duration: 2 min 19 s
Description: It’s not just what tools you have — it’s how you use them. In this video, we dive into HVAC jumpers, magnetic connectors, wire piercing clips, and the small tools that signal big-time technician skills. Whether you’re in the field or at an interview, these details matter and set you apart as a seasoned pro.

It’s not just what tools you have — it’s how you use them. In this video, we dive into HVAC jumpers, magnetic connectors, wire piercing clips, and the small tools that signal big-time technician skills. Whether you’re in the field or at an interview, these details matter and set you apart as a seasoned pro.

Professionalism

Best Practices

Diagnostic

Mark Cukro

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Transcript

So the next thing you'll need, and to me when I hire people, it's very telling what type of tools they have and, uh, not just the type, but what brand and also, uh, if they know how to use them, right? So oftentimes I would just ask people to show me how to use a certain tool, but you should have a set of jumpers for HV, for HVAC.

Now there's many types. These are alligator clips. I like these. Most people use them and they've used them for many years if they've been in the industry. You can also buy these where they're magnetic, so they have just magnets that will just. Uh, magnetically contact to terminals or screws and you can bypass a thermostat, but I do think you should have one of every color in the system.

So whether that's red or orange or yellow, white, black and green, and an HVAC, red is usually, uh, power. And then it go, you have a common wire and then it goes to yellow, which will activate cooling unless it's a heat pump, that's a totally different video. And then green is for the indoor fan. So I think it's a good idea to have all of the colors.

In clips and jumpers that you use in your HVAC system, so it's easy to identify when you use them. You can also get attachments like this, which make it very helpful to puncture a wire. Right, and you don't have to cut it and splice it and put it back together, and then you can take it off of your meter.

So when you start becoming a more advanced technician, small things like this are very telling it. If I see someone come into an interview and they have all of the test equipment they need, and small things like this, to me it indicates the chances that they're very skilled is much higher. And usually when they have the, the person, the technician has these types of tools, it's, I'm far less surprised at what the skill is.

Um, and in a good way, like I'm impressed more than I'm disappointed. So make sure you have all of the tools. We'll have a lift a list that you can print out. But remember when you start, you shouldn't have much get the things that you'll use most often. Then when you're an intermediate technician, get the electrical device, uh, meters that you'll use most often.

And then when you've been in the industry for a while, all of the small accessories that save you time because you know how to use all of the meters and all of the hand tools. So that's my advice as a technician.