Undergraduate certificate · Media, Pennsylvania

Is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Delaware County Community College 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 fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $49,541; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $54,033; 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: $7k (likely $7k – $10k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $15k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in PA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.9 years (likely 0.5–2.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $103k (likely $10k – $203k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $282k (likely $94k – $503k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 23%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26