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

UEI College-Mesa's HVAC program delivers below-average earnings but keeps debt manageable, creating a mixed value proposition for students entering the skilled trades. With median earnings of $33,444, graduates earn about $2,300 less than both the national average ($35,749) and Arizona median ($35,744) for similar programs. This places the program in the bottom 40% nationally and statewide—not terrible, but noticeably behind stronger competitors like Refrigeration School Inc, where graduates earn $48,145.

The saving grace is debt management. At $9,500 in median debt, students borrow exactly the state median and slightly less than the national average. This creates a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.28, meaning graduates can theoretically pay off their loans with about three months of gross income. For a program serving 73% Pell Grant recipients, this conservative debt load prevents the financial disasters that can plague other trade schools.

The bottom line: This program gets you into HVAC work without crushing debt, but you'll likely start at lower wages than peers from better programs. Given Arizona's strong job market for HVAC technicians, the modest earnings gap may narrow with experience, making this a reasonable but not exceptional path into the field.