getahead Guide to Career Advancement
Hot Fields for 2015 and Beyond By Rodney Welch
>
I
f you’re in the market for a job, your best bet is to look for a position where the demand is high — and those jobs aren’t restricted to waitressing, delivering pizzas or manning a cash register. Instead, with some training at Midlands Technical College or another local or regional institution, you could find yourself in one of several jobs that not only can’t be filled fast enough, but which also deliver solid, and sometimes high, wages in today’s competitive marketplace. Changes in the fields of industry, computer technology and human services have opened up a broad range of opportunities at every educational level, especially at technical colleges.
Industrial Programs
There are eight different industrial programs at Midlands Technical College — and job placement isn’t a problem in any of them, according to Alan Clayton, department chair of industrial technologies.
22
Graduates of either the machine tool or HVAC technology programs generally enter the work force with starting salaries of $40,000. Welders might start out with annual salaries of $45,000 to $60,000. Within a couple of years, they could be making six figures, Clayton says. Training in mechatronic and automotive technology can also lead to wages in the same range. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, in 2012 the annual median pay for an electro-mechanical technician with an associate’s degree was $51,820 per year. For an automotive service technician with a high school diploma and on-thejob training, the annual median figure was $36,610. Clayton says MTC industrial graduates often find work in Columbia-based
getahead: guide to career advancement
free-times.com
Welders might start out with annual salaries of $45,000 to $60,000. Within a couple of years, they could be making six figures.
jobs such as Chicago Bridge & Iron, SCE&G and FN Manufacturing. Another frequent employer is Pure Power Technologies in Blythewood, which manufactures diesel fuel injection systems. Graduates also find jobs at the many car dealerships throughout the Midlands. Besides being lucrative, Clayton says that all of these positions could attract people who are at a crossroads in their careers.
“If I can get them in and tour them through my lab,” he says, most people will find some career to their liking — even ones who may not think of themselves as mechanically inclined. Clayton mentions the case of his own son. A dedicated film and music fan in need of a stable career, he went back to school at 27 and became proficient in the machine tools program. continues on page 24
twitter.com/freetimessc
facebook.com/freetimes
December 31, 2014-January 6, 2015