(MARSHALL, Texas) – Originally studying computers and working as a warehouse manager, Daniel Price decided to take his life in a different direction when he discovered Texas State Technical College.
“I was almost 30, and I didn’t want to work as a warehouse manager for the rest of my life,” he said. “I wanted something that would start a good career for me.”
Price enrolled in the Automation and Controls Technology program, offered exclusively at TSTC’s Marshall campus. He said he was drawn to the smaller campus and class sizes, as well as the college’s affordability.
“It seemed more personal, and it was easier for me to learn versus somewhere with probably 50 to 60 students in one class,” Price said.
That setting, Price recently recalled, allowed him to develop relationships with his instructors and classmates. However, he said his biggest reward was discovering his own capabilities.
“I’ve always struggled with not necessarily finishing things, but thinking I can’t. So actually completing (my degree) let me know what I’m capable of,” Price said.
Troy Powledge, an Automation and Controls Technology instructor at TSTC’s Marshall campus, said Price has been a natural in automation since his first day of class. He believes Price’s background in computers has played a role in his success and mentioned that he has even asked Price for help with computer-related issues in the past.
“He helped everyone else in (class), and there was nothing that seemed to slow him down at all,” Powledge said. “He was super focused and a model student. If we had a bunch of students like him, it would be like we weren’t working.”
Price graduated from TSTC with his Associate of Applied Science degree in May 2025 and found employment almost immediately with Pneumatech Safety Systems, an oil and gas company in Flint that specializes in safety, measurement, automation and construction. He is currently working as a measurement and automations technician there.
“It’s good that I went to college because a lot of stuff that we’re doing out there fits right into that,” he said. “But it’s still a learning curve there because every job is different. So far, everything is going great. I enjoy it.”
According to onetonline.org, electromechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians earn a median salary of $64,450 in Texas, where the number of these jobs was projected to grow 4% between 2022 and 2032.
Registration for TSTC’s fall semester is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.