Most people in the HTM field have either seen or heard of the 2015 article in Money magazine naming “Medical Equipment Repairer” as one of the best 5 jobs you’ve never heard of. The Department of Labor does categorize BMETs in the HTM career field as medical equipment repairers. No matter what you call the career, the facts have been submitted and they support an excellent outlook for job seekers in this field. With a 30 percent job growth prediction through 2022, you would think BMET programs would be flooded with applicants.
However, the opposite is actually happening. College enrollment, especially community colleges, has an inverse relationship with the economy. As the economy and job market continue to improve, fewer potential students feel a need to go to college to obtain employment.
In the introduction BMET class I teach, one assignment is for each of the student to write a synopsis of an article found in a HTM career magazine such as TechNation on a weekly basis. Reading the student submissions, I believe each of the newer students are thrilled with what they are reading about the opportunities they find in this career field. They are also overwhelmed by the diversity in entry-level jobs that may be in their near future. I keep reminding them that the bigger picture remains that they will be the leaders in this career field as so many of the pioneers in the field are retiring at a great pace.
Recently, I received several submissions about articles that informed readers about the decline in BMET programs across the nation because of a lack of student enrollment. My students were amazed and confused about how a career field could have a projected 30 percent increase in employment but have programs closing across the nation. These articles had several students wondering if they had actually chosen the correct career field.
I thought it would be prudent for me to explain how this could actually be happening. I explained to the students that many programs had been started in the past several years because of the news about potential job growth. I had to further explain that many of the startup programs were at “for-profit” schools such as ITT Tech, which recently shutdown all 130 campuses. I had a student ask, how could that be? I directed them to many articles about how some of the for-profit colleges were misleading potential students with deceptive marketing practices and fraudulent graduation and job placement rates. This lead to the federal government not allowing students to receive any federal aid to attend the college, so bankruptcy was inevitable.
I explained that this should be a good thing for the students that are in the well-managed and respected BMET programs that remain. There are many programs which remain that are actually putting out competent graduates that can compete and succeed in the HTM field. So, after quite a bit of discussion on this subject, I told my students as long as they work hard and take their studies seriously their chances of have a meaningful and successful career in the HTM field is extremely bright. It is even brighter with the closing of inferior programs. However, they still must consider moving for employment and career advancement opportunities.
So, once again, I close my article with a plea to each HTM professional in the field. If you know a young person who is trying to decide what they want to do in a career, please direct them to a very rewarding career in the HTM field. As I’ve said before, we all know potential students from church, sports, or any of the many arenas in which we all meet young adults searching for meaningful opportunities in different career fields. Please encourage them to look into the HTM career field. Remember, the future of HTM depends on qualified graduates to continue the excellent work already done by industry leaders.
