Electronics FAQ

Electronics Technicians, or "ET's", can be found anywhere there is electronic equipment to be developed, tested, maintained, or repaired. For an in-depth, official description, see the U.S. Department of Labor web site at the CareerStop.org .

Salaries and employment forecasts change constantly. One reliable source of this data is the Electronics Technician page at the U.S. Department of Labor. Their web site has current wage trends and job outlook forecasts for electronics (as well as other industries). When the economy is up, our students are often hired before they complete their degree. Even in the worst of times, however, it is safe to say that electronics degrees are among the most marketable of any associate-level degree.

MCC maintains an online system called the Maricopa Career Network into which you are encouraged to place your resume. Local corporations often search this database for students who meet their qualifications. In addition, student internships are sometimes available. If available, internship opportunities are often posted on the bulletin boards in the Technology Building.

Most employers in the electronics industry seem to care more about your knowledge and skills than certifications. However, should you desire to seek a certification, the best known one is offered by the International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians (ISCET). Our curriculum prepares you well for their certification examination. A representative of the ISCET is on our staff and can provide more information.

Aside from the ET and EET degrees, the most widely recognized industry credential is an amateur radio ("ham") license. Most leaders in the electronics industry are hams. Placing a call sign on your resume will get you noticed, especially in smaller companies. Satellite communications occur regularly in our state-of-the-art ham radio station!

Our Electronics Technology AAS has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. This is the only two-year Electronics program in Arizona that has earned this certification. Electronics Technicians hired by the FAA support airport radars and landing systems at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix and all around the country and the world.

Additionally, industry partnerships are occasionally set up. In past years, the MCC Electronics program has partnered with the City of Scottsdale, SRP, Microchip Technology, and Arizona State University.

If you are full-time, it takes two years, including a summer.

Some of our students can take only one course per semester, while others take two courses per semester. There is no time limit on completing your degree; simply apply for graduation whenever you are close to completing all the required courses.

You are in good company. The vast majority of our students are working adults, with ages ranging from 18 to 75. The average age is 32.

Two of our credentials are for students who want to begin working in the electronics industry as soon as they graduate. These are the Electronics Technology Associates Degree (AAS ET) and the Electronics Technology Certificate of Completion (CCL ET). These programs have a purely occupational focus and include skills most needed by Arizona's industries. The third degree, Electronics Engineering Technology (EET AAS) is for students who also may want to work in industry, but who eventually want to pursue a 4-year engineering degree. Because 4-year engineering programs are calculus/physics-based and are math-intensive, this Associates degree contains more mathematics and physics than our ET degrees. These math and physics courses generally transfer more easily to four-year schools and provide a solid foundation upon which to pursue an engineering degree. To fit these additional courses into the program, however, this degree has fewer hands-on Electronics courses. We developed this program in cooperation with Arizona State University. We meet periodically with an industrial advisory committee made up of representatives from numerous local electronics employers, both large and small, to determine the content of these degrees.

You have time. There are several courses that are common to each of these degrees. For example, ELE111, ELE121, ELE131, and ELE181 are required by all three degrees. If you are undecided, take one or more of these courses first.

To pursue transfer to a 4-year institution, the only way to be sure to get updated information is to contact the institution directly. There is another option that may interest you: the ASU Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) degree programs. You enter the BAS program as a Junior, with only two more years of classes (if full-time) to obtain a 4-year Bachelors degree. The BAS degree is intended for people who will work in industry in technical positions such as plant managers and production managers, but who will not generally be doing design or research work.

Degrees other than the BAS require a course-by-course evaluation. As always for transfer questions, it is essential to contact the institution to which you plan to transfer.

The general education classes (English, humanities, math, and physics) classes transfer. Because our electronics programs are algebra-based, however, the electronics classes will not generally transfer.

Just north of the U.S. 60 on Dobson Road in Mesa. From Dobson Road, take the Solar Way entrance into campus, and proceed a few hundred yards, passing the Theatre and the large solar panel arrays. The electronics program is in building TC-50 which will be on your left. Parking in the lot on the right.

Contact the Electronics Program Director: E-mail: [email protected].