STEM Careers Pandemic Proof

STEM workers are in demand! Engineering and STEM-related jobs will take precedence in the employment industry through 2029 according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — professions are expected to increase 8% between 2019 and 2029, compared to just 3.4% for all other careers. Even more impressive, the median annual STEM wage is $86,980 a year, compared to $38,160 for all non-STEM jobs.

Also WalletHub.com ranked four Texas cities in the top 60 of its list of the Best Cities for STEM jobs. Although San Antonio ranked No. 58 on the list that was released last month, Austin ranked No. 4, and its proximity to San Antonio is beneficial.

This is good news for engineering students in Northwest Vista College’s new partnership with UTSA called TATE which stands for Transfer Academy for Tomorrow’s Engineers program. It allows NVC students to co-enroll at both institutions and take engineering courses taught by UTSA and NVC faculty. Upon completion of the NVC component and an associate’s degree in hand, students will continue courses at UTSA to obtain their bachelor’s degree in any of the six UTSA engineering degree programs, which includes Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Civil Engineering. UTSA also has a partnership with Lone Star College, a community college in Houston.

Students interested in the TATE program are welcome to attend a virtual meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 3:30 pm. To sign up and get Zoom details, go here.

What are some of the benefits of TATE? First, students will be able shave off about $8,800 from their tuition and fees by attending a community college first.

Second, students in this program will be the envy of their peers at summer internships. Many of the summer jobs are from companies that pay about $18 an hour – more than doubled the current minimum wage in Texas. Just in the Lonestar State, there are nearly 100 companies that offer summer internships and many are in the San Antonio area, such as U.S. Air Force, Valero Energy, H-E-B, Intel, CPS, USAA, IBM, Accenture, and Proctor & Gamble. After graduation, UTSA says the starting salary for engineers averages about $60,797.

Third, this joint program opens the doors for many students who don’t have the resources to purse an engineering degree. NVC students who are on financial aid can participate in the AlamoPromise program, that along with other financial resources, can end up making college free.

Finally, the partnership allows students to strengthen their math skills to get calculus ready for their final two years at UTSA. With NVC’s strong math department and tutoring program, it can transform students who started in lower-level math development courses and get them calculus ready in their first two years at NVC.

To learn more about the program and its requirements, which includes being calculus ready, visit the NVC website at https://www.alamo.edu/nvc/academics/tate/

Easier Transition to Engineering Degrees for Students

Northwest Vista College students will now be able to get an easier transition to a bachelor’s degree in Engineering with a new partnership between Alamo Colleges and the The University of Texas at San Antonio.

TATE, which stands for UTSA Transfer Academy for Tomorrow’s Engineers (TATE) program, will allow NVC students to co-enroll at both institutions, and take engineering courses taught by UTSA and NVC faculty. Upon completion of the NVC component of the program, students will continue courses at UTSA to obtain their bachelor’s degree in any of the six UTSA engineering degree programs, which includes Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Civil Engineering.

Qiaoying “Joy” Zhou and Thomas Pressley of NVC’s Math and Engineering department said that through TATE, NVC students will transfer to UTSA as true juniors without missing key courses and key prerequisites. The program was designed for 30 students per cohort.

This new program provides many benefits to students. It makes the transfer process streamlined and gives them an opportunity to earn an associate of science degree at NVC while pursuing a bachelor’s degree. And, it also gives NVC students access to top employers including the U.S. Air Force, Valero Energy, H-E-B, Intel, CPS, USAA, IBM, Accenture, Proctor & Gamble, and more.

Joy and Thomas added this joint admissions program also opens the door for many students who don’t have the resources to an engineering degree. It provides students who are economically disadvantaged with the opportunity to start at Alamo Colleges at low cost (or no cost through AlamoPromise) while still being able to keep pace with their UTSA counterparts and graduate with a bachelors in engineering in four years total.

Additionally, students who are not mathematically prepared to start a university engineering program in calculus in their first freshman semester, can attend Alamo Colleges for a pre-summer or even a pre-fall semester to work on their math level before joining the program.

TATE is looking for new students and on July 9 will hold a virtual information session from 3 pm to 5 pm. To attend the session, go to this link.

To learn more about the program and its requirements, which includes being calculus ready, visit the NVC website at https://www.alamo.edu/nvc/academics/tate/