(ROSENBERG, Texas) – When the instructors in the Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology program at Texas State Technical College’s Fort Bend County campus needed a new lab assistant, they knew exactly who to get: Andrey Suvorov.
Currently a fourth-semester student in the program, Suvorov has a knack for all things robotics. In classes, he was already helping the other students with projects, questions and assignments.
“I think the instructors approached me since they saw how much I was helping out,” he said. “I’m pretty much doing the same thing I was before, but now it’s official.”
While Suvorov only occasionally will help with lectures, he does a lot to assist the other students with lab work, answering their questions, overseeing safety standards and working on various projects for the program.
Suvorov and his family originally came from Belarus in Eastern Europe. Having received green cards, he and his parents came to Cypress, Texas, to start a new life.
“My father works at Toshiba and has a co-worker who graduated from TSTC,” Suvorov said. “It was by his suggestion that I ended up choosing to attend school here.”
While the initial plan was to follow in his father’s footsteps and find a job at Toshiba, at the moment Suvorov is happy where he is. He plans on finishing his degree next semester and then continue on as an assistant for the program for a year after graduation.
“Teaching is a different view of the subject than being a student,” he said. “It helps me really solidify the information I’ve learned throughout my time here at TSTC.”
TSTC offers Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology at its Fort Bend County and Waco campuses. The program is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee, which refunds a participating graduate’s tuition if he or she has not found a job in their field within six months after graduation.
The average annual salary for robotics technicians in Texas is $59,940, according to onetonline.org. The website showed that the need for these specialists in the state was forecast to grow 12% between 2020 and 2030.
For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
