career connection
manufacturing
The average
salary for a
Multi-Skilled
technician is
$27,000$51,500*
High-Tech
Manufacturing Careers
Scholarships, low-to-no student
loan debt, almost immediate job
placement, a career with a cool
name like mechatronics–
Interested? Read on….
With a burgeoning automobile industry
in Alabama, career opportunities abound
for high-tech careers such as automated
control systems, robotics, and industrial
electronics.
MANUFACTURING TODAY
What comes to mind when you think of
manufacturing jobs? Repetitive manual tasks? Loud, dirty factories? Today’s
manufacturing careers are a far cry from
those of the past! When asked how today’s
manufacturing differs from that of previous
generations, Assistant Director George
Booker says, “I worked in manufacturing
for 41 years. It was a lot of manual labor.
I worked in the rubber industry and everything was done manually.” But around
twenty years ago, he says things began to
change.
“We started seeing robotics and automation. No longer can you go into a manufacturing plant without an education. Even
the entry level jobs are becoming somewhat
high-tech. Process are computerized and
16 |
Spring 2016
you must have the ability to interact with
the machinery.”
AUT & MECHATRONICS DEGREE
CARCAM Director Beverly Hilderbrand
says that each partnering community
college has some version of the AUT
(Automotive Manufacturing Technology)
degree. “It may be called mechatronics or
manufacturing technology, but they all
have basically the same courses that are
fundamentals. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), robotics, electronics; those
are the skills that the industry is looking for
now in automated manufacturing.”
An Automotive Manufacturing Technology degree not only prepares students
for employment with companies like
Honda, Hyundai, International Diesel,
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and or the 350
automotive suppliers, but it also translates
easily to other high-tech fields in automated manufacturing, according to Mr.
Booker. “We have expanded our outreach.
Automated manufacturing is universal; robotics and PLC came through the automotive industry but it’s being used in all of the
other industries out there. An AUT degree
gives you a background in robotics and all
the up-to-date technology that make you
an asset for any type of manufacturing,
from aerospace to lightweight materials,
www.potentialmagazine.com
*According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics
etc.” Ms. Hilderbrand adds, “We emphasize
that our students are skilled technicians
educated in problem solving and critical
thinking skills,” invaluable assets in the
manufacturing field overall.
In addition to preparing students for a
career after the two year programs, students
are alternatively “eligible to transfer to
the university level and continue their
education. We have articulation agreements
with several of the universities in the state,
and students are able to pursue engineering
degrees if they choose to do so,” says Ms.
Hilderbrand. Students can also take advantage of valuable internship opportunities,
gaining work experience while in school.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
CARCAM facilitates the AAMA’s (Alabama
Automotive Manufacturing Association)
Dr. Bernard J. Schroer Scholarship Program. Any eligible student in the program
can apply for the award annually. Twelve
scholarships are typically awarded, each
valued at $1500 per year.
Do you think a career in manufacturing
might be for you? More information on this
scholarship and the CARCAM program
can be found at www.carcam.org.