Welcome!  Do you like to play online games?  Would you like to learn more about Manufacturing?   Today you will have an opportunity to do both.  “Manufacturing Technician” is a simulation game that allows you to explore the day in the life of a Manufacturing Technician. 

According to Pennsylvania Career Zone, a manufacturing production technician has an average salary of $57,210 in 2019 and there are approximately 280 job openings in the state yearly.  Training for this career may occur at your local career and technical center, and you may be required to obtain an associate’s degree.  In some cases, you can secure a position through on-the-job training.    The National Association of Manufacturers is warning that 2.4 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled between now and 2028, according to a study from Deloitte Consulting.   What does this all mean?  If you are interested in becoming a manufacturing technician, there are several training opportunities, some of which could cost you nothing.   It also means that you will likely have many different jobs to choose from when it comes time to applying and that these jobs will provide you a pretty good paycheck!!

Let’s get started!   

First go to https://edheads.org/page/manufacturing1.

You will be taken to the “EdHeads, Activate your Mind!” website.   This website is dedicated to helping students explore STEM Careers and recognize how science, technology, engineering and math skills are applied in various careers.   The link above takes you directly to the Manufacturing Technician Game.  It is recommended that you use the Google Chrome Browser to access this game.  It is free and you do not have to register in order to play.

Once you arrive at the website, you will click on the “Click Here To START” button and off you go.  When you hit that button, it will ask you to download a worksheet.  Hit cancel, since you won’t be doing the worksheet, and proceed to the game.  You will meet all different kinds of people who work in an automobile plant.  You will also learn about safety, and line operations, plus you will have a chance to troubleshoot with some of the workers.  You will also participate in  fixing and testing some equipment. And finally, you will have an opportunity to see how important record-keeping is in manufacturing.   You will quickly discover that, not only are your STEM skills important, but what you are learning in your English Language Arts classes is also critical, in order for you to read technical manuals, communicate with others and complete written records.  Good Luck!