(HARLINGEN, Texas) – The Mechatronics Technology program at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus prepares its students to think like engineers for future roles in complex electrical jobs.
Students like Jalissa Alanis, Sophia Galvan and Erica Sanderson have been gaining expertise in areas such as troubleshooting, programming and control systems.
Alanis and Galvan, former Mechatronics Technology dual enrollment students who matriculated from the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District to TSTC, said they chose the program because of the opportunities that are available in the job market.
“Working on electrical systems looked simple at first but turned out to be quite the opposite,” Alanis said. “There’s a good amount of hands-on wiring that has to be done to make them work.”
“I enjoy figuring out the math concepts in our assignments,” Galvan said. “I’m drawn to math and solving equations. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the labs.”
Sanderson, a McAllen native, said studying electrical components has helped her to start thinking with the mindset of an engineer.
“I’ve learned how to use a digital multimeter, how to use hand tools, how to wire a schematic, and other items,” she said. “We use a digital multimeter to measure resistance, voltage and current. We’ve been told that’s the tool we’ll use in our career.”
Carlos Reyes, TSTC’s Mechatronics Technology program team lead, said once the students have completed their hands-on training, they can take industry certification tests.
“If students pass, that could potentially lead to internships with our industry partners,” he said.
According to onetonline.org, electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians earn an average of $69,720 a year in Texas. The website projected that there would be a 11% increase in the number of such jobs in the state from 2022 to 2032.
Registration for TSTC’s fall semester is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.