Author Archives: Daniel Perry

TSTC Electrical Power and Controls program filling area jobs

(RED OAK, Texas) – Electricity drives not only productivity, but also job creation.

Warren Ketteman, president and chief executive officer of the Waxahachie Economic Development Corp., said the availability of electricity is a key factor for prospective companies interested in the city. The Waxahachie EDC and Texas State Technical College in North Texas work together to ensure that there is a trained workforce for new and existing companies to fill jobs.

“With manufacturers, they want to know the proximity of available power, or if it is not in near proximity to the site, how soon can it get there,” Ketteman said.

Nick Scarpinato, lead instructor in TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program at the North Texas campus, said he has talked to representatives of four companies in the last month regarding employment opportunities for students. This is a sign, he said, that the job market is doing well.

“They (employers) come to our facility, and they see what we are doing and say, ‘Wow, that is what we need,’” he said. “We are trying to make courses that fit the industry.”

Scarpinato said TSTC students often have jobs lined up before graduation, with many staying to work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He said Oncor has hired several alumni, and Sherwin-Williams has expressed interest in program graduates. AEP and Coca-Cola have also hired recent graduates statewide.

“With Electrical Power and Controls, there are so many different options,” Scarpinato said. “You can start out in one area, and if you don’t like it, you can move to another very easily.”

Cisco-Eagle Inc., which has its headquarters in Dallas, is currently looking for a programmable logic controller and field technician who can program automated safety systems, do minor controls wiring, create electrical drawings and schematics, and troubleshoot issues. The company specializes in all facets of materials handling, including automation and distributed intelligence.

Logan Beard, Cisco-Eagle’s health and safety manager who also does onboarding of new employees and handles job postings, said he has noticed more people applying for jobs throughout the company. He said the company likes to see job applicants with some technical experience. The company works with Allen-Bradley and Schneider programmable logic controllers.

“If we are asking for someone to hit the ground running, we want them to have that background,” Beard said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, powerhouse, substation and relay electrical and electronics repairers make a yearly median salary of more than $70,000 in Texas. More than 1,900 workers will be needed in the state by 2028.

Graduates can also go on to become commercial and industrial equipment electrical and electronics repairers. These workers make a yearly median salary of more than $61,000 in the state. More than 5,800 workers will be needed by 2028.

North Texas’ Precision Machining Technology program teaches hybrid classes and labs during the day and at night. Students can earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology or a certificate of completion in Machining.

“We leave the construction and installation to the electricians,” said Richard Filut, statewide lead instructor in TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program. “We are more about the engineering and maintenance aspects. We still have some of the same skills as far as being able to install a piece of conduit or run wires or terminate conductors. We are more worried about the operations of the equipment.”

This fall, Advantage Academy Charter School Grand Prairie and Red Oak High School will have students taking dual enrollment classes to earn a certificate of completion in Machining.

Registration continues for the fall semester, with scholarships available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Digital Media Design graduates offer skills, creativity to Rio Grande Valley

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – People who thrive on creativity can easily find digital media design jobs in Texas.

Texas State Technical College’s online Digital Media Design program teaches students about digital imaging, digital video, photography, typography and other topics. With a well-curated portfolio, students can be confident in their abilities to work in agencies and businesses of all sizes.

Devon Smittkamp, a founding partner at Glitch Creative Labs in McAllen, said he has noticed the creative talent growing during the last few years in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We live in a time of instant gratification,” he said. “Someone with a camera is an influencer. Someone with a laptop and a design program is a designer. A lot of people can do good design, but they need to have the mentality behind it and know the customer-service end.”

Smittkamp said people who are successful in the digital media design field have an eye for what looks good and the skills to do work that does not always follow traditional rules. Those entering the industry should have good critical and logical thinking skills. Fitting in with a creative agency or business can also help potential workers.

“We work hard here,” he said. “It’s important to be able to have some fun in the creative process. Culture is a really important thing.”

Jerry Vavra, statewide lead in TSTC’s Digital Media Design program, recommends that students do freelance work before they graduate in order to gain experience in dealing with customers and understand the financial value of their work.

Vavra said students seeking jobs upon graduation should pay attention to the kind of portfolio that employers want to review. He said the type of work they apply for also factors into what materials should make up the portfolio.

Smittkamp said those interviewing for jobs should not put random files into Dropbox, a hosting service using cloud technology, to present portfolios. He said personal design websites are good to point potential employers to, along with a range of images and a resume put together in a PDF format.

Vavra said people who are job hunting should consider employers’ benefits and insurance plans. They should also embrace remote work.

Smittkamp said he is excited to see young adults starting their own creative agencies in McAllen.

“It is proven (that) the world is going digital,” he said. “There is value still in traditional media, but in looking for a younger audience, everything is digital.”

Students who graduate from TSTC’s Digital Media Design program can go on to become art directors, graphic designers, film and video editors, and photographers. The yearly average salary among these professions in Texas ranges from $47,000 to $76,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website. There will be a need for more than 36,900 workers in Texas by 2028.

This fall, TSTC’s program will be taught in a performance-based format. Performance-based education allows students to have flexibility with their schedules as they master set competencies. Students can build on existing knowledge and may have the opportunity to graduate earlier than planned. Students will still have semesters, but the number of classes will vary.

Vavra said performance-based education appeals to a new kind of student that TSTC is seeing.

“They come in knowing how to self-teach, and they go at a faster pace,” he said. “They could go through a class much faster and end up with a good portfolio. We are forcing them to perfect the competencies before they move on.”

Students already enrolled in the Digital Media Design program before the start of the fall semester will be considered “traditional” because they will still take classes lasting the full 15 weeks of a semester.

Vavra said due to the online program expanding statewide, faculty members will use Google rooms starting this fall to connect students from different locations. Faculty members will also have set room hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays and be ready to answer students’ questions and spur on creative discussions.

TSTC offers an online Associate of Applied Science degree in Digital Media Design.

Registration continues for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC graduate enables bank customers to use online services with ease

(WACO, Texas) – Travis Pitrucha grew up in Temple and graduated in 2018 from Texas State Technical College with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Programming Technology. He was hired after graduation at Citibank in Irving, where he is a senior software engineer.

Pitrucha’s work involves developing and maintaining a series of small programs called microservices that provide critical information to Citibank’s online, Internetwork Operating System and Android mobile apps. He is also responsible for all of the bank’s reward programs.

What inspired you to study Computer Programming Technology at TSTC? 

I wanted to learn programming and not everything else that typically comes included with a degree at larger universities. I also didn’t have the money for four years at a university. By going to TSTC, it let me learn the skills, get into the workforce and become financially stable enough to then go back and get the larger degree.

How did TSTC prepare you for going into the computer programming field? 

I knew I wanted to go into this field, but knowing where to start is where TSTC came into play. The biggest thing TSTC left me with is how to find information. Learning all the different computer languages is secondary to learning how to properly use Google.

What motivates you to wake up each morning and go to work? 

At Citibank, we are put in charge of an aspect of the bank. For me and my team, it’s rewards and earnings. You have some ownership of what you develop. If there is an issue, you fix it. Your team relies on you, and you succeed or fail as a team. This motivates me to work every day. The pay is also really, really good.

What is a typical workday like for you? 

Our workday is broken into two blocks a day, a six-hour period of development work and a two-hour period of time set aside for meetings and training. Every day at 9 a.m. there is a small group call when we go over progress with our ongoing tasks. You then start working on your stories. A story is a task that has been planned and typically assigned to you at the start of the month.

Our tasks range from testing out our code and user influence elements and monitoring traffic in the production environment, to developing and designing new features. One day of the week, I actually get to write code, with everything else being design and planning.

Working at an enterprise level, an error that happens 0.01 percent of the time is not good enough. Our code is used billions of times a week. When you work with volume this high, small errors affect a lot of people. Everything must be planned, checked and validated.

How do you keep up to date on changes in the computer programming field? 

Programming is such a large field, and what you do will vary. If you are working for a startup company or a company that develops new technology, you will be on the front end of the rapidly advancing field. Doing something in a new way or using the latest thing will give your company an edge. So, following the latest trend is almost in the job description.

Now, if your job is not developing new technology and you work more on the services end, this includes every other business in the world. You develop and work on an enterprise level. Billion-dollar companies value stability and resiliency so much that by the time you get to use something, it’s several years old. Making and keeping up with the latest thing is something you need to do in your free time.

Why is computer programming the best field for graduates to pursue? 

We live in a digital world. Every single aspect of that world runs on computer code. If there is not code running on it, then code was used to make it. If you want to make something as a computer programmer, you can literally make it into existence. There is no limit. Because of this limitless potential, there are a lot of jobs available right now in the United States.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $108,000. Jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than 1.7 million software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers will be needed nationwide by 2029.

Registration for the fall semester continues, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Precision Machining Technology program ready to meet area job needs

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – From airplane landing gears to smartphones, precision machining is a critical component of our lives.

“Everything comes from an actual machine shop making the products you are going to need for later use,” said Isaac Gonzalez, lead instructor in Texas State Technical College’s Precision Machining Technology program in Harlingen. 

Gonzalez said it is challenging to change misconceptions about how modern precision machining is. While students learn some techniques on older, more manual machines, technology is at the forefront in hands-on lessons. Students work with Mastercam and SolidWorks software, both used for computer-aided design and engineering.

“You can design what you want on your laptop at home, go to TSTC and have it produced on the actual machine,” he said. “You can do anything on computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines now. A lot of our industries have moved toward all CNC machines, which is high technology. That is what we are trying to teach our students.”

Gonzalez said the program’s students are sought after by employers by the time many of them graduate. He said the salary that employers can offer makes a difference in whether graduates stay or leave the Rio Grande Valley to work.

Jerry Portales is general manager at the Harlingen location of Atlantic Durant Technology Inc., or Adtech, which is part of Ohio-based Atlantic Tool & Die Co. He said the company is constantly looking for talented precision machinists and tool makers to ensure that stamping production tools are in good condition to maintain quality and customer satisfaction.

“TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program is a great option for kids who are looking for a short training program,” Portales said. “It will help them improve their income by working in machine shops to support a manufacturing plant using precision machines and tools, or working for a manufacturing plant such as ATD to maintain tools in a good condition by using precision tools and machines.”

Raudel Garza, manager and chief executive officer of the Harlingen Economic Development Corp., said ITD Precision in Harlingen also has a need for well-qualified technicians.

“HEDC stands ready to help these companies and others gain access to TSTC’s programs and the Texas Workforce Commission’s grants, such as the Skills Development Fund,” he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, computer numerical controlled tool programmers are making a yearly median salary of more than $57,000 in Texas. Most jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

Harlingen’s Precision Machining Technology program teaches in a hybrid format for both day and night classes. The program starts new students each fall and spring. Students can earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology and a certificate of completion in Machining.

This fall, high school students from the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District and Mercedes Independent School District will begin taking dual enrollment classes to work toward earning certificates of completion in Machining.

Registration continues for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

 

TSTC graduate wins first place at Waco arts event

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College graduate recently placed first in the Wacotown Chalk + Walk arts event sponsored by Creative Waco.

Shay MacMorran, of Waco, graduated in 2003 with an associate degree in Commercial Art and Advertising. She is currently a graphic designer at Winstar Marketing in Austin but works remotely from her home. The company specializes in apparel, promotional items, social media and web design.

What took place during the competition? 

A bunch of artists and businesses paired together, but businesses could pay for a certain artist. They worked together to make a design for the street or a wall.

I teamed up with LaSalle Shoppes to create a chalk design on Austin Avenue. They do antiques, so we decided to do an “I Love Lucy” crossover with “I Love LaSalle Shoppes.” There is specific street chalk we can use, and also spray paint chalk. You just get into a zone and just go. It’s big, but you have to spend several hours working on it.

Creative Waco and some other groups are working very hard to make the arts scene in Waco more visible. Artists are solitary creatures. You don’t really get out there and see other artists because you are working at home doing your thing. This is a way to bring everyone together.

I was confident, but there are about 50 other artists there. It was based on voting, so you do not know how people will vote. I chose a spot in the LuluBelle’s Market at Magnolia’s Silobration in October in Waco.

What is your job like? 

It’s a little different every day. Most of the time, it is laying out uniforms, but I also do a lot of T-shirt and logo designs.

We usually do a lot of things by Zoom, mostly because of the pandemic. We have quarterly team meetings where we have lunch and folks can come out and talk. It’s a small group, so we are all tight-knit. We talk by email. 

Because I work from home, I can home-school my son, work on personal art projects when I have extra time, and spend time with our dog. It is just a lot more freeing than working in an office. 

What factored into your decision to attend TSTC? 

I wanted to do something with art, and it just seemed like the best fit for me at the time. We didn’t have a lot of money for a huge school. TSTC gave me everything I needed to get started. I went in not knowing how to use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. I was just a traditional artist. I would always draw or paint. I use Adobe products every single day now.

What advice do you have for people interested in pursuing the design field? 

I think it would help to have a creative eye. Otherwise, it is going to be more difficult if you do not have one. Having the ability to take criticism without taking it personally is good.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, graphic designers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $49,000. The state is projected to need more than 20,000 graphic designers by 2028, the third-highest number in the country.

TSTC offers an online associate degree in Visual Communication Technology. Students can gain hands-on experience in art direction, digital publishing and graphic design, and do a required commercial art and advertising internship.

Registration is underway for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Precision Machining Technology program prepares graduates for in-demand jobs

(RED OAK, Texas) – From smartphones to the hubcaps on vehicles, precision machining is a critical component of our lives.

“(Many human-made things would) not exist without a machine and its components,” said Nathan Cleveland, acting statewide lead in Texas State Technical College’s Precision Machining Technology program and associate provost at TSTC in Marshall.

Cleveland said high school students need to be more exposed to what precision machining is, along with its career stability and income potential. He said most students who enter TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program usually know someone already in the industry. The program’s classes at the North Texas campus are taught at night.

Lyle Guinn, the lead instructor for TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program in North Texas, said students entering the program should be good at spatial thinking, have a mechanical aptitude and understand geometry.

Cleveland said the kinds of jobs that program graduates want depend on the area of Texas where they want to live. He said while East Texas has many production jobs, the Houston area has many oil and gas industry jobs. The career niche that graduates shift into will factor into their income.

“A lot of it is where they (graduates) want to live, what kind of benefits they want and if they want to continue on in their education,” Guinn said. “A lot of the companies you go to work for as a machinist will continue to pay for your education.”

Companies that have sought machining workers in the last few months in North Texas include Amazon, Bridgestone/Firestone, Sabre Industries Inc. and FedEx, according to Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas.

Industrial engineering technologists and technicians have the highest hourly wage for experienced workers among machining-type jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at more than $40, according to data from Workforce Solutions. The second-highest hourly wage for experienced workers is more than $39 for metal and plastic model makers.

Workforce Solutions’ 16-county area has more than 7,700 machinists and more than 6,600 metal and plastics machine tool cutting setters, operators and tenders.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, computer numerical controlled tool programmers are making a yearly median salary of more than $57,000 in Texas. Jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology and a certificate of completion in Machining. 

Registration continues for the fall semester. Scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Health Information Technology program ready to fill Valley jobs

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Health information technology enables people to work wherever they want to do their part to keep patients’ health care records organized.

Beyda Ramirez, an instructor in Texas State Technical College’s Health Information Technology program in Harlingen, said graduates do more than handle billing and coding. They also maintain the accuracy of electronic medical records and work with medical facilities’ clinical documentation improvement plans.

“The medical field is always updating and evolving and changing — and with us even more so, because we deal with data,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said interest in the medical field will help students succeed in the program.

“A lot of the students want to stay in the Rio Grande Valley,” she said. “We have students that have left for another city or state. Sometimes we have those students call us and say they have a job opening.”

Linda Gonzalez is a graduate of TSTC’s Health Information Technology program and is currently the marketing director of health information management at the Valley Baptist Health System. She leads her staff in all stages of electronic medical record keeping, including processing birth certificates. The work involves having staff available for both day and evening work.

Gonzalez said when working to fill vacant jobs, previous experience with medical records is beneficial. Valley Baptist, which has facilities in Brownsville, Harlingen, and Weslaco, has hired several TSTC graduates.

“As things have progressed, you don’t really have time for on-the-job training,” she said.

Gonzalez said people who handle medical coding have worked remotely for the last few years. The pandemic has changed where some staff members work, with some not even being in the Valley.

Gonzalez said pursuing health information technology is a great career option.

“There’s always going to be job security,” she said. “You will always need individuals to review the account and process for billing. That is a market I see that is very promising for any individual.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, medical records specialists and health information technicians make a yearly median salary of more than $39,000 in Texas. Cameron and Hidalgo counties have more than 1,100 workers.

According to onetonline.org, the state will employ more than 20,000 medical records specialists and health technicians by 2028.

TSTC offers a Medical Office Specialist certificate and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Technology online. Students must complete the certificate first and meet grade requirements to move into the associate degree program, Ramirez said. The Health Information Technology program is backed by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management.

Registration continues for the fall, with scholarships available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Instrumentation Technology graduates play critical role in workforce

(WACO, Texas) – Instrumentation plays a critical role in the operation of oil refineries, petrochemical facilities, and power generation plants. Workers use programmable logic controllers, calibrate equipment, and maintain the control of flows, levels, temperatures, and pressures for production.

Many of Texas State Technical College’s Instrumentation Technology graduates either have jobs before they graduate or shortly thereafter.

Program faculty said they have noticed a change in hiring patterns during the pandemic, but companies are starting to reach back out to TSTC. Mike Martin, a faculty member in TSTC’s Instrumentation Technology program, said Celanese, Dow Chemical Co. and Phillips 66 are some of the companies that have hired TSTC graduates in the past.

“We still have students interviewing for jobs,” Martin said. “We have some waiting for final replies back from companies.”

Robert Lovelace, TSTC’s statewide lead in the Instrumentation Technology program, said graduates tend to go to work for refineries and power plants after graduation.

The Luminant Generation-owned Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Somervell County has hired several TSTC graduates. The plant employs about 1,300 employees and has two nuclear reactors.

Somervell County Judge Danny Chambers said Comanche Peak is a valuable asset to that area. The power plant pulls in workers not only from throughout the county but from neighboring counties as well. And those workers need some sort of education to handle the daily grind of producing power.

“When you get an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree, it opens doorways and leads to a better future,” Chambers said.

Chambers is familiar with TSTC, having taken Automotive Technology classes there himself. His son graduated from TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program in Waco.

Chambers said the county benefits from having the nuclear plant by way of property taxes, which the city of Glen Rose does not receive. But the city reaps the benefits of tax money as out-of-town workers sleep in hotels, eat in restaurants, buy gas and shop for groceries during planned plant outages.

“Without the power plant, Glen Rose would not be what it is now,” Chambers said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, power plant operators in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $78,000. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators and gaugers in the state make a yearly median salary of more than $76,000. The state will need more than 13,000 workers by 2028.

The Instrumentation Technology program has over 100 students taking classes this summer. Students work toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Instrumentation Technology. Martin said the students attracted to the program typically know someone who works in the industry.

Starting this fall, Instrumentation Technology students will be in labs for longer periods. Lovelace said seven of the program’s 12 classes will have lab time expanded by an hour with less lecture time. He said the program’s goal is to provide more hands-on experiences for students.

Instrumentation Technology is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee initiative, which enables students who do not find a job in their profession within six months of graduation to have their tuition refunded.

Registration continues for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC prepares students for Rio Grande Valley lineworker jobs

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Angel Toledo, lead instructor in Texas State Technical College’s Electrical Lineworker Technology program, spent the week cleaning up TSTC’s 12-acre pole yard at the corner of Rio Hondo Road and 29th Street in Harlingen.

The work involved moving overhead transformers to the yard and also making sure trucks are filled with diesel fuel. It is all in anticipation of the start of Monday’s summer semester.

The semester will be capped off with the graduation of the Harlingen program’s first Electrical Lineworker cohort, whose students are working toward certificates of completion.

“I am impressed because these students are doing an awesome job,” Toledo said. “Everyone is able to apply and understand the safety of the profession, which is number one.”

The summer graduates have the opportunity to sign up for a three-week commercial driver’s license course already covered in their tuition. The lessons are being taught on campus by Ancora Corporate Training, which is also teaching new Electrical Lineworker Technology graduates at the Fort Bend County, Marshall and Waco campuses.

Eric Carithers, TSTC’s statewide chair of the Distribution and Industrial Electrical Systems department, said three of the summer semester’s graduates will be selected to do a six-week paid internship at AEP. The graduates who prove that they have the know-how and passion for linework will be selected for the job, which will be based in the Rio Grande Valley.

Other Valley options for graduates are Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.

Cleiri Quezada, senior communications and public relations coordinator at BPUB, said it is challenging to fill lineworker positions because a lot of applicants do not meet all of the job qualifications. She said BPUB looks for people who have high school diplomas or General Educational Development (GED) certificates, two years of experience in utility construction and a Texas commercial driver’s license. She said job candidates’ reliability and dedication are also measured.

Entry-level lineworkers start as apprentices at BPUB, she said.

“This is a great place to work, especially for people who are just graduating,” Quezada said. “This is a great place to gain experience and to grow in the company, especially in the position of lineworker.”

Harlingen’s Electrical Lineworker Technology program began last fall. The program has worked to build industry partnerships, some of which have yielded equipment for students to use.

“It has definitely met the expectations of what we were expecting in the area,” Carithers said.

TSTC also offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Lineworker Technology. TSTC’s Electrical Lineworker Technology is the only program of its kind south of Corpus Christi.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, electrical power line installers and repairers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $58,000. Texas will need more than 13,800 workers by 2028.

Fall registration continues for all of TSTC’s programs. Scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Aviation Maintenance program eager to fill Texas jobs

(WACO, Texas) – As the aviation industry continues to grow in Texas, so does the need for more mechanics and technicians.

“The aviation maintenance industry is picking up steam really quickly,” said Robert Capps, Texas State Technical College’s statewide lead in the Aviation Maintenance program. “When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the airlines started temporarily mothballing airplanes. As air traffic is picking up, pulling them out of storage is a lot of work to keep them in regular service.”

Capps said a lot of aviation mechanics who left as the pandemic raged on took retirement packages or left the industry for other jobs. He said many of those workers will stay retired, making room for new workers.

Trim Aire Aviation in Mexia is currently searching for an aircraft structure mechanic and paying between $18 and $28 an hour, according to Indeed.com.

“Right now we are working on some applications that are finally coming in here,” said Buddy Miller, Trim Aire’s owner. 

In the past, Miller said it has taken a while to fill technician and mechanic positions. The business has 11 people working on airplanes, with five being licensed mechanics. The remaining workers are apprentices and helpers.

Miller said apprenticeships are a great way for people interested in the aviation maintenance field to get valuable job experience. During their apprenticeships, they can work toward an airframe and powerplant certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ricky Rodriguez, vice president of aircraft maintenance at Texas Aero in Waco, said he likes to hire military veterans because of their mindset and experience.

But he said it is challenging to find qualified people holding airframe and powerplant certifications who want to work in general aviation. Rodriguez said the certificate provides many opportunities for people to work anywhere in the country and make good money.

“It seems like as soon as they come out of school, the airlines come in and swoop them up,” he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, aircraft mechanics and service technicians make a yearly median salary of more than $66,000. The highest concentration of workers is in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas. Texas is projected to need more than 19,300 workers by 2028, the highest number in the country.

TSTC offers associate degree programs in Aircraft Airframe Technology and Aircraft Powerplant Technology and certificates in Aircraft Airframe Technician and Aircraft Powerplant Technician.

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. Scholarships are also available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.