The kitchen table in Brandon Garlington’s apartment is covered in electrical components. Jumper wires sit next to switches, which bump up against a multimeter, which is within reach of a book titled “Electronics All-in-One” and a lovingly crafted clock that he built himself for a class project.
A quick tour of his apartment would turn up more electrical components, including the 8-bit computer he is building from scratch, putting together all of the integrated circuits and LEDs by hand.
“It is a hobby, but this will also help me with my job because that is what I will be doing for a living. It’s good that I enjoy it,” he says.
Garlington is a production specialist at Texas Instruments, a machine operator whose current job is aligning and etching circuitry patterns onto silicon wafers. His goal, though, is to be an electronics engineering technician and to be responsible for building and repairing the machines that he now runs.
To make that happen, he enrolled in the Electronic Engineering Technology (EET) program at Collin College’s Frisco Campus (Preston Ridge). The program provided him with a framework to learn more about electronics, and building them has become more than résumé padding.
“Since I started the electronics program, it has become a passion for me,” he said.
EET at Collin College mixes theory with hands-on learning, building electronics knowledge from the ground up, much like taking one of Texas Instrument’s wafers and adding in the circuitry that allows their machines to run. Courses on building a basic circuit and the integration of those circuits into electronics lay the groundwork for advanced subjects like 5G wireless connectivity, which will be crucial in the coming “Internet of Things,” and robotics, which plays an increasingly larger role in manufacturing. Dr. Yiping Wang, discipline lead for EET at Collin College and a certified FANUC (Fuji Automatic NUmerical Control) Robotics instructor, believes the program gives students eager to solve electrical engineering problems the skills to do so.
“We dedicate a large amount of time to hands-on activities,” Dr. Wang said. “Some of the classes deal with troubleshooting. Others revolve around building circuits and try to reinforce the theory the students have learned.”
Garlington, who plans to graduate in the spring, will finish his degree before the next major educational innovation at Collin College when its Technical Campus opens in fall 2020 in Allen. The campus is designed for students who enjoy building things with their hands and have a passion for their subjects, like Garlington has for electronics.
The EET program will join similar technical programs like Biomedical Equipment Technology and Industrial Automation in a state-of-the-art facility designed to prepare students for the high-demand, high-wage careers of the future. Built with workforce education at its core, the campus will also provide dual credit, traditional college, and continuing education courses in technical programs including Computer-Aided Drafting and Design (CADD), Construction Management, HVAC, Welding Technology, Automotive Service Technician, Collision Repair, Computer Networking, and Health Professions.
Each program was developed with an eye toward the future of Collin County’s growing technological, industrial and trade needs, ensuring program graduates find a job market eager for their talents. The market for CADD jobs is expected to grow by 20% in Collin County between now and 2025. Construction management jobs are forecast to grow by 23% and can provide an average salary of $102,500 for established project managers.
The Technical Campus will provide training on tools and equipment students will find when they start work. HVAC, for instance, will have seven labs focusing on areas ranging from soldering and brazing to commercial and residential design and balancing. Automotive Service Technician students will learn in labs with the latest diagnostic interface tools and work on vehicles with autonomous technology.
Technical Campus students will also learn from professors with decades of first-hand knowledge and success in their trades.
In an environment like that, it is easy to imagine more students like Garlington expressing a passion for their subjects and wanting to spend as much time as they can developing their skills. Let’s just hope that the collision repair students keep their work in the garage and not on the kitchen table.
Want more information about the Collin College Technical Campus and its programs? Visit www.collin.edu/campuses/technical or email technicalcampus@collin.edu for the latest news.