S04-E07 Alberto is a Manufacturing Equipment Technician at Wolfspeed

Alberto is a Manufacturing Equipment Technician at Wolfspeed in Marcy, NY. Alberto talks about how his work in the US AirForce and the Vet S.T.E.P. program prepared him to work as a technician in the semiconductor industry. Aberto highlights how some technical skills he learned in the military are transferable to the civilian sector.  Hear about the benefits of becoming a semiconductor technician and how the Vet S.T.E.P. program works in this episode.

The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program.

Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.

Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.

Links from the show:

Episode Web Page: https://micronanoeducation.org/students-parents/talking-technicians-podcast/

Jobs at Wolfspeed: https://www.wolfspeed.com/careers/

Learn more about Vet S.T.E.P. : https://video.wmht.org/video/vet-step-gap-bridging-from-military-to-microelectronics-uvqeln/

Transcript

Peter Kazarinoff  0:02  
From MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, this is Talking Technicians. The podcast about technicians: who they are, what they do, and where they come from. I'm your host, Peter Kazarinoff. I teach technicians and engineers at Portland Community College. In each episode, you'll meet a working technician and hear their story. That means real interviews, with real technicians, about real jobs. At the end of each episode, you'll hear actions you can take if you want to be a technician too. 

In this episode, you'll meet Alberto. Alberto is a technician at Wolfspeed in Marcy New York, outside Utica, in upstate New York. Alberto, welcome to Talking technicians.

Alberto  0:54  
Thanks, Peter. I'm glad to be here.

Peter Kazarinoff  0:57  
Alberto, you work at Wolfspeed in Marcy, New York. But you didn't grow up in upstate New York. So Where'd you grow up? And then How'd you make your way there?

Alberto  1:08  
So I grew up in New York City. 18 years of my life, then I actually went to college, oh, I guess a trade school, university Technical Institute in Exton, Pennsylvania. And I was a full Toyota Certified mechanic. I work that Mercedes, Toyota and Chevy for the first couple years of my adult life, then decided I wanted a little bit of change. And I joined the military decided to go with the US Air Force. And I was a C 17 crewchief for almost eight years. And I thought that I didn't want to do well, I guess do that anymore. And I found the bet step program through K 8k All crop all caught. Yeah, that's how I ended up here. In upstate.

Peter Kazarinoff  2:10  
Well, let's talk a little bit more about that. Journey, Umberto. So you said that when you got out of high school, you went to trade school, and then worked as a automobile mechanic. So what kind of like skills and things did you learn from trade school that you brought to that?

Alberto  2:31  
The skills that I learned? I guess, it was, it's more attention to detail, I guess, I was able to develop my attention to detail more than anything. Because I was still I still am a klutz, I guess. But my ability to be in my own head, I guess, is a big one. How well can you gather your thoughts and actually do something is is another big one, actually. Because you can think think think all day, but if you don't do anything, then what's your just been spending time thinking? And just sitting there?

Peter Kazarinoff  3:08  
So back to after that you worked as an automobile mechanic and then went into the military? What did you bring from working as an automobile mechanic into your military experience?

Alberto  3:19  
So luckily, the mechanical portion of the military is basic. Well, I guess, to start from the beginning, all mechanical work is the same no matter which field you go into. So it's easily translatable to other mechanical fields, different things that you do learn from, you know, from being a car mechanic into the military is actually the discipline portion of it. Ironically, right, you know, military, you have to be super disciplined and do what you're told and all that but no, but it was relatively easy transitioning from in a car mechanic to an aircraft mechanic. I picked it up very fast and faster than a lot of my peers I'd like to think.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:09  
Alberto, then you worked as an airframe mechanic in the military, and then you said after that, you moved to this vet step program. So tell me a little bit more about that program and how your military experienced help helped you in that program.

Alberto  4:26  
So Well, in this day and age, experience, beats, beats any college degree. Even if you're getting, even if it's a hobby. Any experience is just better than a coming out straight out of college with a degree because it shows that you can you actually have some practical knowledge on what you're what you're working on. And with the military and going into the vet step, I guess it was more went through the whole program. It's sort of showed that I can listen and follow the directions. Because I mean, especially in the semiconductor industry, the technical manuals are kind of similar to the military, where it is you have to do everything in step orders, if that makes sense. So you have to follow it by the book, no deviations, and you have to do it consistently that way every single time. Yeah. So

Peter Kazarinoff  5:30  
You've got these standard operating procedures. And you've got to do those the same every time when you're in the military. And then similarly, now, in the semiconductor industry, you got to do those the same every time. How long was the vet step program? And what are the kinds of things that you did during so.

Alberto  5:48  
The initial training, I guess the school crunch was two weeks, then the actual apprenticeship was scheduled for eight, but I got lucky enough, and it extended up to 10 weeks. And

Peter Kazarinoff  6:04  
Thanks. And while you were doing this, the apprenticeship portion, did you get paid by the company? Or is that part of the educational experience?

Alberto  6:14  
So I got, I actually got continued being paid by the military. While I was in the program, I was very fortunate enough that I was getting paid. They were able to offer me a job once once the apprenticeship was over, so I can I can't really complain either. So the Yeah, so I didn't struggle in any way, shape or form. I was I was alright.

Peter Kazarinoff  6:43  
Nice. So it sounds like one of the advantages of this vet step program is not only the things you learn, but that you are able to keep your military paid during it. And then after it, you were able to secure employment out in the civilian sector. So tell me a little bit about wolfspeed. And what you do there, you're started out working on cars than on airplanes. And now, microchips, what do you do at wolfspeed?

Alberto  7:11  
So my official job title is a manufacturer, Equipment Technician. I work in wet and dry edge. I'm more so in the wet edge. I work on tools that deal with Think of it like a carwash, right? First you go in, you start wetting the car, right, and then you spray so then you get the machine that blows all that off, and then you do and then you polish the car. And then once it's all nice and polished, you give it once more wash, and then another another wrench, and now the car is squeaky clean. That's basically what what edge is, all we're doing is grabbing the the silicon wafer, barfing it all out take because all the processes are all dirty, and they're there, they can cause cross contamination. We just want to make sure that the wafers clean for the next step of the process. All I'm doing is just maintaining those specific machines. So

Peter Kazarinoff  8:20  
You're maintaining these machines. And those machines are the things that build microchips and other devices out of silicon. Can you describe for me, what's a typical day like for you? It will speed What do you do at the beginning, the middle and the end? So

Alberto  8:34  
At the very beginning of shift, I get there 15 minutes early, because I still can't break that habit from military. I get there 15 minutes early, and I get a general pastime from the previous technician. I'm a little bit more in the the hard headed side and just tell me what needs to be done. I don't need, I don't need you to tell me what you have done. Because it's already been complete. What haven't you completed and what needs to be done is really more important. That's normally the first 30 to 30 minutes to an hour of the shift after that. I start to get my plant going. And I look over what scheduled preventative maintenance that needs to be done until the actual tool around like eight, nine o'clock ish we, I talked to the actual Equipment Engineer, the individual that owns a tool, and I give him my plan like hey, this is where I'm going to do. And some days, my plan is wrong and he dictates that that hey, maybe we should do this or, or or the days he's like yeah, sure, go do whatever, you know, I got I have to do this in this on this other tool. So I really like you know, so I'm Yeah. And that's basically my entire 12 hour shift and after that you So rinse and repeat, I give my Well, I call Well, what needs to be done to my next Counterparty? Yeah, you know, that's that's basically it.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:09  
So at the beginning of the shift, you have this pass down, and you see it was done before, then you do your work during the shift. And then at the end of your shift, you have to give passed down to the next person that's coming on. So it sounds like this is shift work. What's your schedule, like?

Alberto  10:25  
So my specific schedule is 12 hour shifts, or two, three days a week. There is the long week where I work Sunday to Wednesday, then the short week is Sunday to Tuesday.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:38  
Do you work the day shift? Or do you work the night shift?

Alberto  10:43  
I work the day shift currently.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:45  
Can you describe a little to me about the benefits? How much would somebody expect to make as a semiconductor technician?

Alberto  10:55  
So depending on the experience, and depending on what level you are, since I'm a level two, and I make between 28 and 33 an hour. That's without overtime, too. Because this, this is very oriented. This industry is or overtime, conscious. So I get an automatic time and a half after 40 hours. So

Peter Kazarinoff  11:22  
So you've got your hourly rate, and then you've got some differentials if you like work, overtime shifts, are there other benefits to working for wolfspeed? Things like health insurance or retirement? Oh,

Alberto  11:36  
Yes. I mean, I get, at least in my retirement, they match up to 6%. The health insurance is from what I've hear well, from what I've heard from other individuals, fantastic. from different companies, at least, compared lead, like, ironically, one of my friends is a is a nurse and she says I have better health insurance. And she works at this at a hospital. So I can't I can't complain. I mean, I don't get hurt. But I don't pay a lot in health insurance. I can definitely tell you that much. And I Yeah.

Peter Kazarinoff  12:19  
What about opportunities for professional advancement? You mentioned that you're a level two technician? Did you start at level one, and like what can possibly come next for you.

Alberto  12:31  
So I started off as a level two only because of my mechanic, my previous mechanical experience translates very well to this industry. Compared to someone in college, they will start off as a level one technician with very little pay. And then once you've made about five years of experience in at least doing mechanical work, that's when you become a level two. At level three, it's 10 years, level five is 15. Sorry, level threes fifth teen, you just have to wait your time. And that's when technicians can start making the good books. So

Peter Kazarinoff  13:06  
You've got these different levels. And you can attain those levels by working in the industry for a certain number of years. And then that'll give you a pay bump when you go up to that next level. So Alberto, what did it feel like the first time you walked into the wolfspeed Fab? You'd worked on aircraft and on cars. What's it like being in the in the semiconductor industry for the first time? Well,

Alberto  13:37  
It's very clean to say that much very, very clean. I've actually lost a lot of my calluses which I'm kind of mad about. I wear gloves every single day as even though this is a you know a quote unquote dirty job. It's significantly clearer than any job I've ever done. It is it's it's insane actually. And I get to work in climate controlled weather. Oh, such a blessing actually. Because I was working in in the Air Force I was working anywhere between like negative two hundreds degrees or so and in the aircraft we have a general like boy in the aviation industry we have a general saying whatever it is outside it's it's the worst two evils in the jet. Yeah, if it's 30 degrees, or it's if it's cold in the jet, it's even sorry if it's colder outside, even colder in the jet and it's aggravating but now I'm It is literally 20 degrees Celsius in the fab at all times.

Peter Kazarinoff  14:50  
So Alberto, it sounds like this is a pretty enjoyable job. How did you find out about the vet step pro program and then would you recommend that to other people who are in the service right now.

Alberto  15:06  
So the way I found the best program was through a skilled bridge program for the military. It's an opportunity for service members to leave the military early while stating it paid by them. And it allows them to have apprenticeship experience, whether or a quote unquote, job once they're done with their their contract. And I would definitely recommend the vest step program. To anyone that is leaving the military is, is definitely worth it. Especially Kate, she was amazing. She, she she helped me out every step of the way. It was, it was actually kind of stressful. I almost wasn't able to go because of the whole military, but I had an amazing command. I had amazing mentors while I was in the military, and every single one of them supported my decision on leaving, even though they were sad to see me go, they knew that the military could run without me.

Peter Kazarinoff  16:15  
So Alberto, what advice would you give current service members or people who want to transition their careers, and work as a technician like you in the semiconductor industry?

Alberto  16:28  
I guess I would say just go for it. Find any community college and get yourself or any Fast Track program that can get your foot in the door? Use that GI Bill, do whatever you can, because the the pay is great. But there's probably a million ways to probably get into the industry, create your LinkedIn account, you know, start connecting people. There's there's, especially with the semiconductor industry growing in the United States, especially if you're in upstate, just in upstate New York, we're building Well, there's micron that's building a fab near Syracuse, there's Global Foundries, there's wolfspeed, there's small amounts of fabs getting built up up here, that there's really no reason and considering the entire industry. I would, in my personal experience, I've seen like 70% of vets, working as technicians, which was kind of an eye opener for me. I was actually kind of surprised and relieved, you know, I get to still be the same old self, from how I was in the military. With with with a dash of professionalism, you know?

Peter Kazarinoff  17:39  
Course. Thanks, Alberto. Yeah, it's really interesting to learn that maybe when you're in the service, you don't know that there are a lot of people that work just like you, who are out as technicians in the semiconductor industry. But then when you transition, and you move into civilian life and work in that industry, then all of a sudden you find all these people who are working as technicians. Yeah. So do you have a final call to action? For students or people who want to work as a technician, like you?

Alberto  18:14  
Come over, we need you actually were we're very low, man. Believe it or not, please, we, we actually need you. Regardless, if you don't have any experience. A lot of this can be taught. It's not very hard to learn, it does take time. But I've noticed that more people in this industry are more willing to teach. Because it is, as much as I don't want to say it. You can get yourself hurt if you don't know what you're doing. So safety is actually a big thing for us. But definitely, like come over, we will teach you everything the correct way, the right way, the first time. That way you can, you know, have a very successful career in this industry.

Peter Kazarinoff  19:04  
Alberto, that's great to know that the semiconductor industry is hiring technicians, and that there's a training available so you can do the job well and safely. So thank you so much for sharing your story with me and being on the talking technicians podcast.

Alberto  19:21  
Thank you for having me.

Peter Kazarinoff  19:23  
Absolutely. Please keep in touch.

Talking Technicians is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program. Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation. Join the conversation: If you are a working technician, or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org. We're always looking out for great guests to share more stories with you.