The Griffon News

Four-year degree to help ET graduates secure jobs

Missouri Western now has a new four-year degree in manufacturing engineering technology. This new degree will help graduates better secure jobs in the ET field and eventually compete globally with other countries.

“With the four year degree, the future for graduates is unlimited. Manufacturing is picking up in today’s world, so a high tech manufacturing degree is what utilizes technology in the workplace,” Virendra Varma, engineering technology chairperson, said.

Sophomore Thad Weston thinks that this new program will open a whole lot of doors.

“I think it’s going to be really helpful, because without it you get locked in and don’t have the opportunities to move up,” Weston said. “A two- year degree only takes you so far.”

Changing to this new program wasn’t easy for the department; Varma said that they have been working towards this four-year degree for a few years now.

Jinwen Zhu, department of engineering technology assistant professor, said the process was difficult.

“Because of our limitation of faculty made it difficult for us. We had to wait,” Zhu said.

Varma agrees that it was a challenge, but everyone from the president to the provost supported the department and wanted them to do well. And now with new qualified faculty the department is ready to deliver.

“It was a struggle to get approved. We have been working on this degree for a long time,” Varma said. “The students were the driving force. Now we have students wanting to come
back for the four-year degree that have already graduated from the two-year.”

With the new program comes new courses and equipment to properly help students advance. These six new courses added to Western’s engineering technology program will focus on electronics such as automation and process control technology, programmable logic controllers, financial aspects of engineering projects and mechanical design; technical report writing and an opportunity in an engineering technology internship.

Sophomore Mark Diggs said that he is glad that they changed the program to a four-year degree.

“I think it’s going to be great, it gives us a lot of opportunity to get into some positions that would not be available otherwise,” Diggs said.

Weston also mentioned that the instructors are very knowledgeable when it comes to engineering.

“Instructors are so knowledgeable in today’s needs in engineering field, they are very up to date, and they give you something you can use when you get out into the workplace,” Weston said.

With the new four-year program students will be more than qualified and ready for the workplace.

“In a competitive global economy, engineering technology (ET) graduates are at the forefront in making the difference in the fields of construction, electronics, manufacturing, computer electronics, and other related technologies. ET graduates are the true problem-solvers of today, and caretakers of the technologies of the future,” Varma said.