HVACR

Types of Degrees HVACR Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many heating, air conditioning, ventilation & refrigeration graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	12,175
Basic Certificate	7,684
Associate Degree	2,032

What HVACR Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to hvacr and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for HVACR Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Skills for HVACR Majors

A major in hvacr prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.

Abilities for HVACR Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a hvacr student include the following:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

What Can You Do With a HVACR Major?

People with a hvacr degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Heating and Air Conditioning Mechanics and Installers	14.7%	$47,610
Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers	14.7%	$47,610

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in HVACR?

This is one of the most frequently chosen trade school majors. It is the 17th most popular in the country with 1,861 students graduating with an associate’s in hvacr in 2021. This major tends to be male dominated. About 96% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of hvacr majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	68
Black or African American	187
Hispanic or Latino	320
White	1,295
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	153

Geographic Diversity

HVACR appeals to people across the globe. About 0.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Canada

How Much Do HVACR Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Hvacr majors often go into careers with median salaries of $50,160. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to HVACR

Some careers associated with hvacr require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for hvacr careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	6.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	54.0%
Some College Courses	10.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	14.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	5.0%

Online HVACR Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	504	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	35	0
Associate’s Degree	249	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in HVACR Worth It?

The median salary for a hvacr grad is $50,160 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 26% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $205,200 after 20 years!

Trades Related to HVACR

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to hvacr.

Major	Number of Grads
Vehicle Maintenance & Repair	63,451
Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance	8,446
Electronics Maintenance & Repair	8,127
Precision Systems Maintenance	2,185
Mechanic & Repair Tech (Other)	1,184
Mechanics & Repairers	347
Energy Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies.	110

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.