Undergraduate certificate · San Jose, California

Is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Institute for Business and Technology 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: $54,305; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $61,992; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $8,867; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $29k (likely $29k – $29k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $22k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.3 years (likely 2.0–2.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $143k (likely $113k – $178k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $425k (likely $327k – $534k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 76%; 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