[James M. Lydon]  The biggest strength of the Computer Repair Technology program and the certificate and degrees that we have is the quality of the education.  We go from taking people that have absolutely no idea of what a digital multi-meter is and move them through until they are very well equipped to go out and into any entry level position.
 
[David English]  Many of our students entering the Computer Technology program come to us with no skills at all.  It is interesting to see how they, after two years, how they develop these skills, have a full understanding of electronics, have an appreciation for electronics, have an appreciation for the computer itself.  They have used the computers at home to play video games, but now realize how important they are to our society.

[James M. Lydon]  The first semester is learning the mechanics.  Starting with the second semester, you really are starting to get more and more and more into the electronics, until in the senior level you're reading schematics, you are looking at monitors, you are taking things apart, you are learning how to safely measure 30 or 40 thousand volts.  We cover just about everything that a four year school does in two years.
   
[David English]  Students in the degree program, because it is 70 credit hours, take more then just courses in the curriculum itself.  They will take courses in physics, or advanced science, they will take courses in mathematics, English courses, sociology, as well as courses in network technology.

[David English]  With the fox and the hound, what you do is plug in an ethernet cable and then turn it on and when it finds the other side. (Beep),(beep).

[David English]  The skills required by most people that are successful in this field, are problem solver skills, analytical skills.  You want to understand that they can't just look at a problem and say oh I can't figure it out.  They want to sit down and have the drive to take the time to figure it out. 

[James M. Lydon]  Our students tend to be what's called concrete sequential, as opposed to intuitive.  You do this, that leads to this, that leads to this, that leads to this, and it all makes sense to them.  And using there hands helps them to understand what they are looking at and what they are doing.
 
[David English]  Our program is certified by the State of New York.  Our students can go on to get a bachelors and masters whatever they want from this program.  They have a wider range of skills, they are more accepted by industry as employable.
  
[James M. Lydon]  The students that come out of here when they receive their degrees take a wide variety of jobs.  We have people that go directly into companies like I B M, or what use to be Digital, things like that, the large companies.  That has gotten a lot more difficult in this immediate area.  So most of our people wind up with mom and pop operations, the small stores, or they wind up working, to start off with the help desk.   

[James M. Lydon]  This latch comes from T B M T.  Anybody want to guess what T B M T is?

[David English]  The three full time faculty in the Computer Repair Technology program have over 90 years of experience in the field.

[James M. Lydon]  Everybody in our department is a full professor, which means we at least have Master's degrees and most, in fact all of us have multiple degrees.  Everyone of the faculty members in this particular department, in Computer Repair Technology Department, have worked in the real world.  So even though we are still teaching here, we still go back out periodically and will take a consulting job and do work in the field.  We also spend quite a bit of time going back to school or studying on our own so that we stay as current as possible with what's going on in the world today.  

[James M. Lydon]  And it's tied to ground, which means this chip is always selected.

[David English]  Students in the Computer Repair Technology program must leave here with a full understanding of the computer system;  how it interacts, where its come from, its history.