that people made to which I replied,
No, I don’t think that’s how it works.
I attended some Oil & Energy Service
Professionals meeting where this kind
of thing was talked about.
ICM: How long have you been in the
field?
Faber: About one year and nine months.
ICM: Has anything surprised you?
Faber: I’ve been stuck on calls. I
don’t know if that’s a surprise, but
it happens. Fortunately, I have the
support system to lean on.
ICM: Where would you like this career
path to take you?
Faber: I just want to learn more and
move up. I want to know everything
about oil. Then learn everything about
gas, everything about steam, everything
about AC. From there, I want to learn
something else, generators, propane,
whatever it is. First though, I really
just want to focus on mastering oil, and
I just want to keep going, increasing
my skills. ICM
it. I take the good and leave the bad,
because I don't want that negativity
in my head. There has been times
when customers have underestimated
my ability due to my age and gender.
Also, there's an older generation that
hasn't accepted females in the field
yet, but when I fix a no heat call or
solder in front of customers, they see
my ability to help, then they seem to
be more comfortable with me being in
this field. I hope that the percentage
of HVAC women will increase over
the next years, in that way it will be
more accepted by others.
ICM: Is there anything particularly
challenging about the oil heat work
versus any other HVAC work, or is
there anything you like about it that
stands out?
Faber: I like the fire part. I like to
be able to test and manipulate the
setting to get a good flame. If you’ve
ever been in the field, you know that
there’s always those customers that
just watch. So, I always engage with
them. I’ll ask them if they know about
their boiler. I’ll open the little chamber
door and show them what’s going on
inside. It helps them to understand
and to accept me as their technician.
ICM: Petro has committed to switching
all of its customer base to a blend of
20% biodiesel with heating oil. This is
essential for the whole industry going
forward to be able to reduce greenhouse
gasses. Did you get any special training
or education from Petro on the Bioheat®
transition?
Faber: Yes, we had meetings and
training sessions about it. It was a
good chance to understand and to
contradict some of the rumors out
there. Someone came from NORA to
talk about the research it has done;
they gave us an education.
ICM: Do customers ever ask you about
greenhouse gases or the Bioheat® ?
Faber: I’ve had a couple of people—
and I don’t know where this is coming
from—who said they didn’t like that
new B20 because they heard it’s going
to cause problems with the fuel pump.
Some were concerned that it would burn
faster. There were many comments
More about NORA certifications & training and to visit the Technical Resource Center, go to Learning.NORAweb.org
18 ICM/September/October 2022