Undergraduate certificate · Hackensack, New Jersey

Is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Adult and Continuing Education-BCTS worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $37,847; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $50,700; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $12k (likely $12k – $12k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $10k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NJ; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4 years (likely 2.2–9.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $37k (likely −$35k – $123k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $184k (likely $27k – $386k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 95%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26