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AAS Engineering Technology jobs?

kyjosh

Dec 15, 2009
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Dec 15, 2009
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I graduate in December with an AAS in Engineering Technology- Electronics. I’ve been checking out the job market to get a good idea of what I’m going in to, and I’ve got to say I’m not feeling all that sure about this choice of degree now. I can find all kinds of listings for various Engineers; and even a few listings that I would think would be a technician but requires a BSEE.

Have technician/technologist jobs gone the way of the Dodo since electronics are basically “throw away” items now? Or am I just living in a bad area? (Western Kentucky)

I figure the latter is probably truer than the former, but I’m interested in what others think.

For what it’s worth, I have pretty modest goals for life. I’d happy installing security systems for 30K a year, but alas there doesn’t seem to be anyone hiring for that either.
 

55pilot

Feb 23, 2010
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Feb 23, 2010
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434
It is not a good time to be looking for a job in any field. That is unlikely to change any time soon, but I would love to be wrong on that prediction.

I am not sure what "AAS.." degree entails, but from the title it sounds like a technician degree or "tech school" from old days. Assuming I am correct....

Bigger companies with large engineering departments will still hire techs because more and more BSEE programs are moving away from hands on engineering. One of their graduates can design the greatest gizmo, but can not physically build up a 555 circuit to flash a LED (they can give you the correct schematic). Also helping is the fact that their mentality is also to prevent the highly paid engineer from doing the job that a lower paid tech can do. Those companies will always be hiring technicians.They have slowed down the hiring, but that will pick up. The tech hiring will pick up before engineering hiring does.

Many smaller companies have found that they can not afford a BSEE and usually a tech to serve the BSEE. They have frequently gone with experience technicians, sometimes to success and other times to their dismal failure. Right now those companies can afford BSEEs so that market for techs has dried up. That market is likely to come back for the completely inexperienced tech (low $$$) and for the very experienced ones that can work on their own. The ones in the middle will have a hard time.

Many companies used to hire tech school grads for installing alarms and cable TV etc. As the systems got more complicated, there was actually less knowledge needed on the part of the installed. It became more of a "connect the blue wire to terminal 1 and the green wire to..." type job which could be done with anyone with basic reading skills who was good with his hands. That market has been dying and will not be coming back.

And finally, as you have pointed out, being in western Kentucky is most probably not helping either.

Good luck.

---55p
 
Last edited:

kyjosh

Dec 15, 2009
65
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Dec 15, 2009
Messages
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An AAS is an Associate in Applied Science. So yeah, it is sort of like a cross between a science degree and a tech degree/diploma.
 
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