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| Job Placement |
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| According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2002 chemical laboratory technicians made, on average, $39,000 a year. Chemical plant and system operators, or process technicians, made between $38,000 and $44,000 a year, based on hourly wages. TSTC CHT graduates report earnings increasing to $45,000 a year and more with only three to five years of experience. |
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| Chemical/Environmental Laboratory technicians use a wide variety of equipment and instruments, such as: |
- Standard laboratory glassware, such as beakers, flasks, pipets, burets, etc.;
- Specialized glassware, such as distillation columns, separatory funnels, etc.;
- Analytical balances and instrumentation;
- Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometers (FTIR);
- UV-VIS and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers;
- Mass Spectrometers (MS);
- pH meters; and
- Gas and High-Performance Liquid Chromotographs.
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| CHT graduates can expect outstanding career opportunities throughout Texas and the United States. Texas companies account for a substantial amount of U.S. chemical production, with operations in the Gulf Coast region and metropolitan areas such as San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth. According to the BLS, "Continued growth of scientific and medical research, as well as the development and production of technical products, should stimulate demand for science technicians in all areas." The chemical industry in Texas can be classified as manufacturing, research and development or service. Technicians working in the manufacturing industries help produce a high quality product that can be purchased by other chemical companies or by ordinary people like you and me. Technicians working in research and development may help develop new or better products. They might also help develop new testing procedures. Technicians working in service laboratories might work for a variety of industries including environmental, manufacturing, and research and development. |
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| American Chemical Society Student Affiliates |
| CHT students gain exposure to industry professionals through the program's advisory committee and organizations such as the American Chemical Society (ACS), which encompasses 161,000 members in 34 ACS divisions. The TSTC student-affiliate ACS chapter offers great networking opportunities as well. |
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