Career Spotlight

Come find out at Manufest, Montgomery County's Manufacturing and Trades Expo! There will be a high school field trip for grades 9-12 to attend Manufest. Transportation and lunch will be provided. Students can register here or in the High School Career Center.

Manufacturing is one of the top four major industries in our county. According to the Commerce Department in Montgomery County, there are 1,385 manufacturing companies and 38,432 jobs (2017). come check out manufacturing companies in our own back yard. Learn what employers are looking for in future employees.

What careers are involved in manufacturing? You may be amazed at all of them. Production, shipping, management, business, maintenance, industrial designer, finance, biochemical engineering, electrical engineering, computer technology, accounting, marketing, sales, machining, accountants, industrial engineering, the list goes on.Come see for yourself and participate in company expos and demos. Click here for more information on this event.

Last month the Career Spotlight highlighted the Arcola students participating in What's So Cool About Manufacturing. These students are working on their video and can't wait for you to see it! Production is underway and plans for showcasing their video are being made. Online viewing and voting will be coming up in March. They can't wait for you to learn more about Inteprod in Eagleville!

Technology Education teachers Matt Pluscht and Steve Boyles, and Physics teacher Curtis Brown, participated in an Educator Excursion at Dow Chemical in Collegeville. This "teacher in the workplace" event allowed Methacton educators to learn about the site businesses (Coatings, Personal Care, Construction Chemicals, etc.) and tour selected laboratories. Lunch with STEM Ambassadors was followed by a STEM workshop, Essential Elements, that focused on teaching Chemistry concepts through hands-on learning. Thank you Dow, for hosting this event and giving our teachers relevant professional development to connect classroom learning with the workplace.

Skyview Career Day, Friday, March 22, 2018 and Arcola STEAM Day, Thursday, May 23, 2019. These school wide events are important for student career awareness and exploration. Elementary students will participate in career awareness activities throughout the spring. College and career readiness doesn't begin in high school, it's a K-12 journey of awareness, exploration and planning. Thank you to our families for the role you play in career development of our youth.

A few things:

Counselors are busy with registration for high school and 8th grade students. Please see your counselor with questions about your schedule.

Remember to check your grade level Google Classroom for scholarship information and summer opportunities.

the 2019 summer acceleration courses are now available online under "announcements" section on the Methacton High School homepage.

Widner University rewarded the academic achievement of Dimple Gandevia and Louie Orth with scholarships worth $196K over four years. Both students study mechatronics at North Montco Technical Career Center in Lansdale under the direction of Rich Matthias who developed the program in 2002. Gandevia received Widner’s Presidential Scholarship valued at $108,000, and Orth was awarded $88,000. Both plan to continue their education in robotics engineering this fall at the University.

Mechatronics engineering, a cornerstone of Industry 4.0, is a program that combines mechanical, computer and electrical engineering, along with systems integration and project management. It is increasingly applied to just about every economic sector, including Aerospace and Defense, Telecommunications, Transportation, Agriculture, and Biotechnology, just to name a few. Matthias’ program has graduated about 145 students since its inception, and students have the ability to earn up to 18 college credits. Current enrollment is 45 students, and Matthias anticipates a full class for 2019 -2020. To learn more about NMTCC’s Mechatronics Program visit the website.

According to North Penn High School alumni Dr. Jonathan Weaver, now a professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Detroit Mercy and visiting professor at Villanova University, there has not been a more crucial time in history for students to explore this kind of technology. “It is predicted that we will see more technological change in the next twenty years than we have in the preceding 300 years. Will the next generation be prepared for that?"

It is no surprise that the need for mechatronics is growing and is considered a high priority occupation in Pennsylvania. Students completing Matthias’ program at NMTCC can explore one of several career pathways with this training. They have the skills to enter the workforce directly out of high school as a technician, or they can to go to college well prepared to earn an engineering degree.

What draws a student to robotics? Both Gandevia and Orth describe themselves as liking math and science classes, solving problems, and understanding the way things work. More importantly, each feels that their parents and teachers have been great mentors to them. Both students took advantage of a tour of NMTCC Mechatronics Lab and knew it would be good place to explore their interests.

For more frequent K-12 career updates follow me on Twitter.

High school students, check out the HS Career Center on Instagram.

Email: jschmitz@methacton.org
Website: http://bit.ly/2F2wGD1
Location: Methacton School District
Phone: 610-489-5000
Twitter: @k12CareerCouns