Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR) at Wilson Community College

At an estimated $9,300 in debt, Wilson Community College's HVAC certificate appears financially manageable—until you notice that comparable programs in North Carolina typically produce median earnings of $46,491, nearly $11,000 more than the national baseline this estimate is drawn from. That gap matters. North Carolina's robust HVAC market generally rewards technicians well above the national average, but without reported outcomes for Wilson's specific program, it's unclear whether graduates here capture that state premium or fall closer to the national figure.

The estimated 0.26 debt-to-earnings ratio looks reasonable on paper, suggesting about three months of gross pay to clear student loans. But that calculation assumes first-year earnings around $35,700. If Wilson's graduates actually perform closer to the NC state median, this program becomes significantly more attractive; if they track below it, you're looking at a longer payback period in a field where experienced technicians often earn substantially more as they build client relationships and specialize.

The practical question is whether Wilson provides the same pathway to North Carolina's higher-paying HVAC market that programs like Davidson-Davie appear to offer. With no reported graduate outcomes available, you're making this investment without knowing if this particular program produces results at the state level or simply meets the lower national baseline—a distinction worth $10,000 annually in this field.