S04-E09 Kendall is a Technician at Indium

Kendall, a technician at Indium, shares the experience working in the manufacturing industry and the journey to becoming a technician. Kendall discusses the role of Indium as a materials refiner and supplier to the electronics and semiconductor markets. Kendall describes daily tasks operating a rolling mill and the various alloys produced at Indium and also talks about the opportunities for professional growth, benefits, and work schedule at the company. Kendall highlights the importance of creativity and flexibility in the manufacturing industry and offers advice for those interested in pursuing a career as a technician.

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/

Transcript

Peter Kazarinoff  0:03  
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 Kendall. Kendall is a technician at Indium in Rome, New York outside of Albany. Kendall, welcome to Talking technicians.

Kendall  0:52  
Thanks, Peter. I'm glad to be here.

Peter Kazarinoff  0:54  
Kendall, the indium is in Rome, New York outside Albany. Is that where you live? And how long have you been in that area for?

Kendall  1:02  
Yes, Rome, New York is where I live. I've been here for around 12 years. I moved here in seventh grade with my mother and my sister from Massachusetts.

Peter Kazarinoff  1:13  
So Kindle now let's talk a little bit about where you work in your job. So tell me about Indium. What is indium do?

Kendall  1:23  
So Indium is a manufacturer, materials, refiners smelter and supplier to the global electronics and semiconductor thin film and thermal management markets. We work with a very variety of alloys, but one of the most notable would be Indium. That's why the name is what it is. I am N, technically, my title is an operator to at the location that I work I work on a rolling mill. I do I roll metals and alloys into like ribbon to be used for parts in the production line, among other things,

Peter Kazarinoff  2:00  
And Kendall. So some of the alloys that are made it in indium, when they're used in other products, what do those alloys get used for?

Kendall  2:10  
They get used for things like I would say, let's, let's see, like solder for fortifications for circuit boards. They get used for touchscreen applications. I know that one I know some of them, I think are in some of the products that we make are in things like pacemakers. So we make a lot of medical products, or at least like the tiny, tiny little parts that go into those medical machines.

Peter Kazarinoff  2:36  
And so Kendall, you mentioned, that you operate sometimes something called a rolling mill, can you describe a typical workday to me? What do you do day to day at work?

Kendall  2:48  
So what I do, usually I come in, I do like a shift change over meeting with the guys that are in my department. So we'll talk about what jobs need to be handled throughout the day. If there's any hot jobs that need to be particularly paid attention to.

Then honestly, I just set the machine up and crank it and go and cancel. What do you do at the end of a shift? What's the very last thing you do before you leave? Another shift change meeting, typically, I will set up any jobs that need to be handled for that the remaining remainder of the day, so that there's no you know, gap in production. And then I just check if check over all of the materials that I need to hit need to handle the process throughout the day have been input into our system properly, so it can be properly tracked throughout its process. And then know do you do? Do you do shift work? Or do you have a nine to five schedule? How is How is your work scheduled Indian? So the work schedule looks like a typical mall for me. It's seven to 330 every day. So I have a pretty structured go of it honestly, which is pretty nice. And I have Saturday Sundays off. So our company has the weekends off. Typically we don't have any anybody in any of our locations, I don't believe pretty average.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:14  
So Kendall, can you provide a ballpark salary for your job as a technician or your current position? How much might somebody make if they go into a role like yours?

Kendall  4:24  
So in a role at like mine, I would say personally, I'm making around 40 41k. That should be the typical of what you could expect, I want to say especially entry level. I've been at it for about two years now. So I've been working up a little bit. I started out probably probably around 3938 But it also depends on the area that people live in. So I know that in my area specifically for the cost of living it's pretty decent

Peter Kazarinoff  4:55  
And Kendall besides salary, are there opportunities He's for professional growth at the company.

Kendall  5:03  
Yes, they have a lot of different internship programs, apprenticeship programs. And the good thing about indium, specifically, what drew me to the company was the fact that I can bounce around, they are more than willing to put you in a different department, if you don't feel like you're reaching your fullest potential at the department that you're in. Or if you kind of lose interest in doing the same tasks every day, you can be cross trained, they're more than willing to cross train you on pretty much everything. And you can also move up the ladder pretty relatively quickly, especially with the education opportunities that they have for people. So you can move sort of horizontally work for a different department, or you could also move vertically, potentially into a management position.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:47  
So besides those types of professional growth, things in salary, are there things like benefits health care, retirement that have gone along with your work at Indium?

Kendall  6:00  
Yeah, when I was hired, I got my benefits package pretty, pretty straight on. So they do a 401 K program. I am actually not sure of the specifics. I'm probably a horrible employee for that. I don't really keep track of it all that much yet. But they also also offer health care for full time employees. I gotta say, they got quite a bit of the standard package for the rest of it. I want to say they're pretty pretty up there with what's typical of manufacturing places.

Peter Kazarinoff  6:36  
Kendall, what did it feel like your first day at work? What did it feel like going into Indian the first time?

Kendall  6:42  
Terrifying, absolutely terrifying. I, I was actually coming from a completely different industry of food service. And not to say that I wasn't used to like, particularly loud jobs. But I entered into a room that had a lot of pneumatic machines. So a lot of the air compressors going off constant worrying washing noises, we have to wear hearing protection, or hearing protection and all that. And I wasn't necessarily braced for the stimulus. So my first day that I got there, when I came back home, my wife actually asked me after about 20 minutes of me talking to her excitedly about my day, and how it went, she goes, Do you work in a loud room? And I stopped, I was like, yeah, actually, why? And she goes, because you're yelling at me. So that was that was kind of what my first day was like, but it was it was a lot of bright eyed, shiny new things to play with, I think.

Peter Kazarinoff  7:41  
And how does it feel now going into work has a different?

Kendall  7:45  
Um, it hasn't, it hasn't lost its luster for me, actually, I because of the ability to kind of maneuver around to different positions, and them always being willing to put me someplace new, to learn new things. I can't say that it's really any different. I'm still terrified when I come in sometimes that I'm going to encounter something that I'm not used to. I don't I'm not a very big proponent for change.

Peter Kazarinoff  8:10  
So Kendall, let's kind of switch gears and talk about how you got to where you are. Now, sometimes we call this like a career pathway. You mentioned that you move to the Albany, New York area from Massachusetts. So what was your education experience before you moved up into Indian?

Kendall  8:29  
So my education experience after I moved I, I was in I graduated from a private Catholic school that's local to the area. And then it was it was a really small class of like, 22 people. So I didn't have a very broad range of what was going on outside of that school, if you can imagine. So when I went into the community college that's also local that I happen to be re matriculated into for this program. They it was it was really difficult. I think I've mentioned before, I believe on the panel, I had mentioned that I have ADHD. I wasn't diagnosed when I first got into college. So coming from a structured environment in of like a high school setting that you can imagine you have the bells tell you when to go places and everything and you kind of don't have any say in what your scheduling is as a as a teenager, to being kind of free rein just do whatever, try to make a structure for myself. It didn't really work very well. So I had a lot of a lot of problems with time management. I had a lot of issues with executive function for sure. determining when to do my my assignments and stuff. So education wise, I've I've always kind of had a rough relationship with it.

Peter Kazarinoff  9:47  
Right, so after high school, you went to community college, and it wasn't the most ideal experience. So what happened for you next? What do you do after that?

Kendall  9:58  
I went into the work force kind of full full throttle, I decided I didn't want to go back to school after getting my two year degree, which I'd gotten theater, so completely different industry. But I, I tried my hand at having three jobs at once. And that dwindled down to two jobs at once. And then finally down to one. So I kind of was really nomadic in my career choices. I went from working in a school system, which let me tell you children can rival pneumatic machines in their loudness so. But I also tried my hand at you know, the food service industry I was in. I worked with people with developmental disabilities for a while so and then I had this inkling that I might want to go into psychology. So I had thought about going back to school, but it was a really daunting vision, to be honest. So when I finally got to indium, I was coming from Dunkin Donuts, which I was trying to get out of that in the kind of, I don't want to say toxic work environment. But it was kind of a toxic work environment and foodservice in general is just a really hard, fast paced and strenuous industry to be in, I will say, so respect to them. But I wanted something that was more self paced, I wanted something that I could, I could know what I could expect every single day going into it. And even if I were to encounter something that I'm not sure of, I would have the time and not feel pressured. Because in other industries, it's very, you're very like, Okay, you have to come up with the solution right off the bat right now. And with what I found in manufacturing, I have the time to sit and think for a minute. And that's nobody's going to be down my back hounding me this needs to be fixed, right. The second, it's, it might be important, but it's also important to come up with the correct solution, not just throw things at the wall and see what sticks. So I, when I got into MDM, I didn't think that it was actually going to be a permanent solution. For me, I was fully under the belief that this was going to be a temporary placement, it was something that the work that they do, there is definitely something that intrigued me. And I kind of just jumped jumped on it because it was interesting. I have a tendency to do that being ADHD. So it was wherever the dopamine was taking me. That's where I wanted to go. And I just so happened that it captured my interest once I got in there. And it was kind of like a spider's web. Now I've been crawling around on it. And I'm interested to try and figure out what other windows will open for me so, so Kendall working in foodservice, and then also working when you're in community college on theater, that's quite a bit different from the work that you're doing now at Indium, serving as a supplier to electronics in the semiconductor industry.

Peter Kazarinoff  12:45  
So once you're at Indium, can you explain a little bit about the program that you were in and how that prepares and trains you for your current career?

Kendall  12:54  
As far as the registered apprenticeship program goes, Yeah, absolutely. They. So once that kind of fell into my lap, it prepared me a little bit better for the industry for manufacturing specifically.

I wasn't very tech savvy, I've never been very stem oriented, I would say, I was horrible at math, throughout my higher education career, even now, I have a hard time with the math aspect of certain things. And I have to have kind of an out of the box way of approaching math problems for me to even try to solve them. So that was actually something that going into this program really helped me. And I think some of that was being able to interact with the tutors and the instructors that they they afforded us are were able to bring into the company because it was they they have a little bit more leniency, I would say being re matriculated. And being now 30 years old compared to going into college from high school, it's almost like there's a level of well, you don't have much going on with your time when you're a high school student coming into college. So you, you can just afford to focus solely on your grades, when in reality, you know, there's plenty of college students that are coming out of high school that have two three jobs that can't don't have all that time to focus and are struggling. So when I voiced that kind of struggle to the instructors now through this program, they were more than willing to help me really take the time and help me understand what's going on. Like, what I'm looking at whether it's math problems, or understanding how like the electrical grid systems are supposed to work, and how to put together a circuit board because I had never thought I'd be doing that before in my life. And now I look at I look at a circuit board and I'm like, Hey, I actually know what a resistor is. And I can probably take this apart and piece it back together and make it work. But yeah, so Kendall, you mentioned that you're in a registered apprenticeship program. Can you explain a little bit more about how that works? How is that different from a regular two year community college AAS degree? How long does it take

Peter Kazarinoff  15:00  
Kendall, what sorts of things do you have to do as part of it?

Kendall  15:04  
So for a while, as far as how long it takes, it's different for every program, as far as I understand. So for the IMT program, I believe it only took me about a year, a year and a half. And I'm only just now getting rid of or getting done with the journey workers hours that I have to log into blue book. So that's one responsibility. The way that it's structured is very self paced. I think I mentioned that before as well. Which is particularly enticing for anybody who is neurodivergent, and needs to be able to focus on one class at a time, instead of overloading your schedule with like four or five classes for a semester, or even six classes, and then not having any time to balance your workload and your personal life on top of it. So being in the apprenticeship program, it was the way that they structured it, at least for my, my particular company. They what they did, which, which I think is neat, and which I think other companies should also consider doing is that they turned one of their locations, or they took space out of one of their locations and kind of turned to turn it into a learning center. So they bring the instructors from the community college that they partner with, to that location, which is about 45 minutes from me. So it's an the next city over. And it's so that way, we don't have to drive to the campus, necessarily, and take classes on, like on the actual campus, we can just still be clocked in and go straight to our separate location that's still in Diem, and then clock in there and transfer it over to learning time or meeting times. And all of the coursework that we need as far as textbooks and things like that are taken care of for us. Everything's paid for through the partnership program with I believe it's mackney right now, as well as Nika. So they kind of structure it in a way that you only take one class at a time. For us, it was like one class for three months. And then we would transfer into the next class the next month. And we we did a lot of our stuff online. But that's part of what the community college requires from us as well. So we have to kind of balance what the community college requires for us getting those credentials, as well as what will be, I guess, pertinent to the manufacturing industry and what Indian wants from us to learn. So some of it is also structured based on what they've see you having the potential to move up towards. So I'm going to specifically look into being some somewhere along the lines of like an engineer tech or something like that. And they've got plenty of various options for that for me and the company. But the apprenticeship program also is structured in a way that you get a specific amount of credits, I believe I had, we only took four courses for the IMT program that we were put through, but we get the IMT certification as long as as well as the journey worker certification at the end of it. So it's recognized through the Department of Labor. And trying to think if there's really anything else I think that might be about about all that I can offer as far as knowledge in that regard.

Peter Kazarinoff  18:18  
So while you're working at Indium, you're also taking one community college class, but you're taking that course at an Indium location, not over at the community college, and then over the course of one year, then you finish this registered apprenticeship program, and then at the end of it, then you get the certificate for it. So what's coming up for you next, what's coming up for you in the future.

Kendall  18:43  
So I actually just got the confirmation that I'm enrolled in my next class. So I had a little bit of money leftover from the partnership program that they do. Because for us with specifically I believe with McAfee it is we get the grant, the company gets the grant and it's divided out to the apprentices and then whatever money is left over is our money to work with. So we can also take an additional course just for like a micro credential if we want it to something that is pertaining to the industry that we're working in, specifically as long as it's that, but um, I will be taking a computer Fundamentals course. And then that is going to fast track me into the I filled out the application and I'm in the process of getting hopefully getting approved for the EMT apprenticeship program with them. So I can continue education and by the end of a so instead of it being a four year degree, it'll be a two year I'll be completing it in a two year. Hopefully, it depends on how much credit they're willing to give me for my previous work experience as well as my previous credits in college. So all that ties into what I'm going to be doing and hopefully I can be have the credentials of an electro mechanical engineer or technician by the end of my two years there.

Peter Kazarinoff  20:00  
And Kendall while you're in one of these apprenticeship programs, are you getting paid by Indian? And do you have to pay any tuition? How does that work? So I do still I'm a full time employee. So I still get all my benefits and the regular you know, not not, not nine to five, but you know what I mean, not by nine to five structure of my 40 hour work week, but they will work with me as in terms of what courses I take. So if I have a class that I have to be enrolled in, that is, say, the actually the one coming up, it starts at 245, and doesn't end until 550. So they will pay me what's called straight time, because we have other incentives and stuff that are tacked on to our regular pay. So they'll pay me straight time for being in class, or for whatever time I take in that class. And it'll be in addition to my 40 Hour Workweek, so, but they're more than willing to work with me on scheduling and structuring that with what my work week will look like. So that I don't get to encumbered throughout the week.

And so that means for you out of pocket, you don't have to pay anything for this course, we're not a dime. That's great. 

Kendall  21:07  
So I know, right? I think it's a great deal.

Peter Kazarinoff  21:10  
And I can see there for a while, while you're going into like this next registered apprenticeship program. And it sort of sounds like that they sort of build upon each other to.

Kendall  21:21  
Yes, yes. So the EMT program, what's the neat thing that I found, at least this is what prompted me to really go for it was that by the end of my EMT program, I will also I will not just have two certificates, I will have three, so I will have the IMT, which I will have already obtained. And then in the course of getting the EMT, I will have a mechatronics certification through the college as well, which that is a so the way that they kind of worked this is it's going to fast track us to getting those three. So you'll get the IMT first and then that's four out of the eight classes that you need for the mechatronics. And that Mechatronics is eight out of the like, I believe, 14 classes that you need for the EMT. So you'll kind of if you if you play your cards, right, you'll get one after the other, essentially. So three for the price of two, or the price of nine, I would say because I don't have to pay any.

Peter Kazarinoff  22:19  
And Kendall. Besides the loud noises. What was something unexpected about working as a technician that you only learned after you started? You mentioned you worked at Dunkin Donuts and foodservice and did some other stuff. What was something unexpected about being a technician?

Kendall  22:37  
There's actually two things that I would say are unexpected. One of them is how much room there is for creative solutions. So the creativity in the minute manufacturing world is a necessity, like it is. And that is something that definitely shocked me because I've always thought of STEM programs or manufacturing industries in general as being this rigid structured, like put everything into a box and then close that box in a specific way. And if you don't put it that way, then you're you're you can't do it here. type of thing. But really, they're looking for when they say they're looking for innovation, they're looking for innovation, like they're looking for creativity, for thinking outside of the box for being able to come up with an innovative solution to something and it doesn't have to work, you can get that like 60% of the way there. And then maybe it'll open the door and you'll be like, Ah, maybe I see something just past the window pane over there that I need to reach for. And it's great. Honestly, I never expected that. And then the other thing is, I think I also said it kind of in that rigidity aspect is the flexibility, the willingness of like, it's just really it specifically in my my job, it's a really a relaxed environment compared to what I was used to working in and being in it's not that it's not fast paced, it's just that it's a little bit more reliant on the individual being capable of pulling their own weight, essentially, and they trust you to do your job and do it well. And if there's ever a problem, you know, that'll be communicated, but it's very open. It's very, very much an honest, clean cut environment, I would say. And so you've got personal responsibility at work, and you have the ability to make decisions that affect your own career and your own work, too. Yeah, yeah, I'm very much the operator of my own career path.

Peter Kazarinoff  24:26  
So Kendall, how did your life change when you became a technician? What's different now compared to when you were a student? Or when you were working in foodservice?

Um, well, I would say my priorities have definitely changed. I got to a point in my life where I was just looking for I started I started on the panel, I was looking for a company that I could grow with instead of growing out of something that I could, like advance with, really, and I didn't I felt myself really stagnating. So my priorities kind of shifted to okay, how am I going to find a career path that I can really stick with and it'll build me up, as well as helping me build the foundation of my life because I was planning on getting married, you know, starting a family and stuff. And that's everybody's, you know, talks about things like, I want to say, like attitude and drive and being a go getter in this kind of environment. But, you know, money really does talk, money is a motivator for a lot of people. And that's something that I was definitely looking forward to. So my priority, my priority shifting, and how much my poor my priorities now drive my choices, and like, steer the direction of where I think I might be headed. Now, I like I said, I never thought I'd be in a STEM, like any kind of STEM related studies at all, I never thought I'd be able to work my way, way around a circuit board or even on a piece of heavy machinery, machinery, like what I use every day. And it's amazing to me that I can still be creative with some hunk of metal like that.

So Kendall, what advice would you give current students or people who want to transition their careers and work at a place like Indium?

Kendall  26:08  
Um, my advice would be a lot of a lot, you see a lot of the job application, what are they called job postings. There we go. Sorry, room, I'll rework that you see a lot of the job postings that will mention you have to have X amount of experience or x degree and X micro credential or whatever, what have you. And what I would say to that is you don't have to have the experience, you have to gain it, you have to be willing to change with your environment. And honestly, like, I would say, you you really want to the industry needs people that will bring it forward and help like advance the world. Because this isn't just like a microscopic level, a lot of these places like manufacturing industries that pop up or like, say areas that that they they overtake. In a way, we have like a new a new micron facility coming to Syracuse over here, and we hear about how much money they're going to be sinking into the area. And it really does affect it's like a ripple effect. It goes outward into communities. And you as an individual looking to go into an industry like this, you just have to be willing to ask questions. They don't have to be the right questions, they just just ask your questions. Don't be afraid to take the step, take the running leap. And then you don't you don't know where you're gonna land. But you can land and pivot, there's always room to move around. So I guess my biggest piece of advice would just be Don't, don't be afraid to get your feet wet, and your hands dirty.

Peter Kazarinoff  27:42  
And Kendall, would you recommend the registered apprenticeship program to other folks? And if so, why?

Kendall  27:48  
100% I think it is the best thing that I have done for myself or chosen to stick with for myself, because I like to, I like to joke and say that I was kind of voluntold to do it. My HR manager came up to me and was like, I think this is a great opportunity for you. And I was like, I don't know about that. And I went into it thinking, okay, I can quit at any point and there's no strings attached. I don't have to worry about it. I'm not going to owe money if I don't do a good job, or God forbid if I end up failing a class because I just don't grasp the information. But there's also plenty of like tutoring opportunities and other resources available for people who have like neurodivergent tendencies that don't necessarily learn the same way that others do. So being able to go into a program that's self paced like this, I would highly recommend it. Highly recommended. It's so so much more relaxed of an environment for learning. And it's you really have have the ability to take your time.

Peter Kazarinoff  28:49  
And you can make a full time salary while you're doing

Kendall  28:53  
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't have to worry about the foundation coming out from under your feet. And just solely focusing on those grades to make sure you get good grades, because that's not what it's all about. You got to have some kind of balance and it's really easy to balance when it comes to a registered apprenticeship.

Peter Kazarinoff  29:08  
Well, Kendall, thank you so much about sharing your story with me today. And you're working at Indium. I really appreciate it.

Kendall  29:15  
Yeah, no, thank you, Peter. I'm happy to have been able to talk to you.

Peter Kazarinoff  29:18  
Please keep in touch.

Kendall  29:20  
Absolutely.

Peter Kazarinoff  29:20  
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.