Undergraduate certificate · Chicago, Illinois

Is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at HVAC Technical Institute 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 2.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $51,773; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $53,082; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $6,851; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $24k (likely $24k – $24k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $14k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.3 years (likely 1.8–3.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $70k (likely $32k – $114k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $205k (likely $125k – $291k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 91%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: not reported / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20