Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Emily Griffith Technical College

HVAC certificate programs nationally produce starting salaries around $36,000, which is what graduates from comparable programs to Emily Griffith's can expect. That's a decent starting point for a skilled trade, though it falls short of what top-performing HVAC programs nationally achieve—the best quarter of programs see graduates earning over $40,000 in their first year. The gap matters because HVAC work is physically demanding, and higher earnings early on can make a real difference in your child's financial stability.

The estimated debt of $9,300 is manageable for this field, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26 that suggests graduates could realistically pay off loans within a year or two of focused repayment. That's a reasonable debt load for entry into a trade with steady demand—Denver's growing construction market and aging infrastructure create ongoing need for HVAC technicians. However, the program's unusually low Pell grant rate (just 7% of students) is puzzling for a technical certificate program and may signal something about affordability or student composition worth investigating.

The key question is whether Emily Griffith provides the hands-on training and industry connections that translate these typical outcomes into reality for its specific graduates. Since we're working with estimates based on peer programs rather than this school's actual track record, visit the campus to assess the equipment quality, ask about job placement rates with local contractors, and talk to recent alumni if possible. For HVAC training, those practical details matter as much as the numbers.