(SWEETWATER, Texas) – Jose Chavira says he is the most comfortable when working on automobiles.
“It is my Zen, it is my getaway,” the first-semester Texas State Technical College Automotive Technology student said. “Once I heard that there was a program available (in Sweetwater), I was sold. This is where I needed to be.”
Chavira grew up in Roby but now lives in Colorado City. He served in the U.S. Army and later earned an associate degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling at TSTC.
He decided on a career repairing vehicles after paying a mechanic to repair his 2009 Ford Contour.
“I paid the mechanic $1,200 to replace a fuel pump that cost $90,” he said. “I knew then that I wanted to do my own work. I became self-taught from that point.”
Now Chavira wants to help people who are in need after he earns his associate degree.
“I want to be able to buy cars and fix them so the less fortunate can afford them,” he said. “I want to give people the opportunity to own their own vehicle without going into a lot of debt.”
Ty Liedtke, a TSTC Automotive Technology instructor, sees a quality of caring in Chavira’s work.
“Jose is very motivated and works hard on every assignment,” Liedtke said. “He is someone our younger students can look up to.”
Chavira said he does not mind that he is the oldest student in the class.
“I am like the old cat with a bunch of kittens, but that is okay,” he said. “I was able to adjust, and now everyone is comfortable making sure we understand the coursework.”
Chavira said he likes the hands-on approach that TSTC uses to train students.
“It is one thing to say you can do something on paper, but you have to prove it in the shop,” he said. “The strength of this program is the hands-on approach.”
Chavira said if he could travel back in time and give his younger self one piece of advice, it would be something it took him years to learn.
“I would go back and tell myself to attend TSTC and learn a trade,” he said. “TSTC is an awesome place for me.”
The need for qualified automotive service technicians and mechanics is expected to grow in Texas over the next several years. According to onetonline.org, Texas employs more than 55,000 of these technicians around the state, and that number was forecast to top 61,000 by 2030. The website stated that the average annual salary for a technician in the state is $46,800.
TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology and an Automotive Technician certificate of completion at the Harlingen, Sweetwater and Waco campuses. Several other certificates, including Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair, Chrysler Specialization and Tesla START Technician, are also available depending on campus location.
To learn more about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
