Undergraduate certificate · Exton, Pennsylvania

Is Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians at Automotive Training Center-Exton 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 2.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,233; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $54,602; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $14,151; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $16k (likely $16k – $16k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.1 years (likely 1.7–2.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $98k (likely $71k – $128k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $302k (likely $218k – $403k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 69%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26