Engineering jobs: CMU grads find work in Grand Valley

Tim Brower
Tim Brower
Eric Goetz
Eric Goetz

Phil Castle, The Business Times

       Eric Goetz keeps close tabs on the mechanical engineering degree programs offered at Colorado Mesa University for several reasons.

Goetz serves as chairman of an industry advisory committee that strives to make sure engineering students learn what they need to succeed in the workplace. Goetz also serves as chairman of a local manufacturing alliance and knows manufacturers face challenges in finding qualified employees.

But there’s still another reason for his interest, he admits. “I do troll for the best students.”

Goetz works as vice president of operations for Capco, a military contractor in Grand Junction that’s hired five graduates from the programs. “It’s been very good for our business,” he says.

Capco is hardly alone in that regard, says Tim Brower, director of the mechanical engineering partnership program between CMU and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Out of a total of 59 students who’ve graduated from the partnership program and applied mechanical engineering degree program at CMU since 2012, fully half work in engineering jobs in Grand Junction, Brower says.

“That’s huge,” Goetz says of a proportion that dispels at least in part the notion college graduates have to leave the Grand Valley to find opportunity.

Brower says the situation bodes well for local companies looking for engineers as well as engineers looking for local jobs. “I think everyone is a winner.”

The situation has broader implications Goetz, says, in helping existing manufacturers and recruiting new manufacturers. That’s not to mention the potential for entrepreneurial engineers to go into business for themselves.
“I think it’s going to do great things for the local economy over time.”

Brower says another 15 percent of mechanical engineering degree graduates work in engineering jobs in Colorado, while 24 percent work in engineering jobs elsewhere in the United States.

The proverbial pipeline of students enrolled in the programs is filling up, he adds. A total of 23 students are expected to graduate in May 2016, while 26 students will begin their junior year in the partnership program this fall, the largest class yet. Moreover, 75 freshmen entering CMU this fall have already signed up for engineering courses with most of the summer still left for registration.

Goetz says he hires graduates from the program not only because they’re as qualified as applicants from elsewhere, but also because they’re already familiar with the Grand Valley and, consequently, more likely to want to remain in the area.

“They’re much more likely to stay in the valley because they want to be here,” Goetz says. That helps to increase retention and reduce the costs associated with turnover, he adds.

Under the partnership program, which began in 2008,  students can earn a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from CU while attending courses at CMU. Students take courses from CMU instructors during their first two years and with CU faculty who live in Grand Junction their second two years.

Students enrolled in the program never have to set foot on the CU campus in Boulder unless they want to attend commencement exercises there when they graduate, Bower says.

The program includes a lot of project-based work in which students apply what they’ve learned. Some of those projects involve working for industry and solving real-life problems, he says.

The results of a national exam administered to all engineering students testing their knowledge of fundamentals shows that students in the partnership program fare as well or better than the national average, Bower says.

“It’s been a great program,” Goetz adds.

In addition to the partnership program, CMU also offers an applied mechanical engineering degree program. In response to industry, the program has focused on the manufacturing and energy sectors, Brower says.

In addition to their time in classrooms, mechanical engineering students also participate in internships with local companies, Goetz says. Those internships often lead to full-time employment.

Dylan Ashby and Alice Kerbein, two recent graduates of the partnership program, both completed internships at Capco and now work there.

A self-described “gear head” who’s always excelled in math and science, Ashby says he wanted the CU degree without living in Boulder. And he wanted to stay in the Grand Valley after graduating. “It was a pretty win-win situation.”

Kerbein says she attended Virginia Tech as a freshman, but returned to the Grand Valley to study mechanical engineering through the partnership program. She says she was also looking for a program in which to take advantage of her math and science skills, but also  liked the small class sizes as well as professors who were more engaged in their courses and interactions with students.

Goetz says he’s looking for new hires with a solid understanding of engineering and science who also have a good work ethic and are reliable. But he also wants new hires who plan to remain in the area. “I think that’s a winning recipe for success.”

And he says he’s found those attributes in the graduates he’s hired.

Other Grand Junction manufacturers also have benefited from hiring graduates, Goetz said.

In addition to Capco, other local companies that have hired graduates from the mechanical engineering programs include Bonsai Design, CoorsTek, GPD Global, Lewis Engineering and Mountain Racing Products, Brower says.

And as the program continues to grow, so will its benefits not only in helping existing businesses, but attracting new businesses, he says.

The availability of engineering graduates in combination with a new state program establishing tax-friendly zones should help to bolster economic development, Goetz and Brower agree.

In addition, some of the graduates will go to work for themselves in launching new ventures, they say.

Brower says mechanical engineering offers one of the broadest areas of study in engineering, one that’s applicable to a range of industries and jobs.

Nonetheless, there’ve been discussions about offering other engineering degree programs, he says. Nothing specific yet has been decided. “That’s in the talking phase.”

Meanwhile, Goetz expects to continue to keep close tabs on the mechanical engineering degree programs offered at CMU as an advisor and local industry leader — but also as an employer looking for new employees.