Undergraduate certificate · Bakersfield, California

Is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at San Joaquin Valley College-Bakersfield worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.8 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,231; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $59,715; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $12,923; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $24k (likely $24k – $31k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $20k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.8 years (likely 2.4–3.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $116k (likely $80k – $152k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $369k (likely $268k – $485k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 57%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26