Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Florida Career College-Tampa

This HVAC program at Florida Career College-Tampa significantly underperforms both national and state standards, raising serious concerns about return on investment. With first-year earnings of $28,989, graduates earn $6,760 less than the national median for HVAC programs and $3,008 below the Florida median. More troubling, the program ranks in just the 11th percentile nationally—meaning 89% of comparable HVAC programs nationwide produce better-earning graduates. Even within Florida's competitive HVAC education landscape, this program sits at the 40th percentile, with top Florida programs like Manatee Technical College producing graduates earning $16,937 more in their first year.

The debt picture adds to these concerns. While the $9,500 debt load matches Florida's median for HVAC programs, it represents the 75th percentile nationally—meaning most similar programs nationwide saddle students with less debt. Combined with below-average earnings, graduates face a manageable but suboptimal debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.33. The 18% earnings growth to $34,093 by year four shows some improvement, but graduates still trail significantly behind peers from better-performing programs.

Given that 70% of students receive Pell grants, many families are making substantial sacrifices for an outcome that lags considerably behind alternatives. Florida offers dozens of superior HVAC programs—this isn't the place to invest your education dollars.