Midland College (MC) is promoting its programs within the energy, transportation, and industry sectors as pathways to rewarding careers for students.
According to a Facebook post by MC, "Explore your path to high-demand, high-paying careers with Midland College! Whether you're passionate about diesel technology, natural gas compression, or automation, we offer the courses to help you build the skills employers need."
Erick Gutierrez, department chair of the Automotive, Diesel and Energy Technology Department at MC, said in a video accompanying the post that an energy career depends on the sector of oil and gas a student wishes to enter. He emphasized that automation plays a significant role in their curriculum.
"Working closely with our advisory committee and industry partners," Gutierrez said, "we saw the need to be able to offer more automation courses as it keeps getting more integrated into our industry now." He explained that automation is prevalent in everyday use from home appliances to security systems and the manufacturing industry. The college aims to provide courses that prepare students for various fields.
Gutierrez further mentioned that automation is linked to the natural gas sector due to its reliance on equipment with multiple data points. "The entire associate's degree in automation will take a student two years," he added.