Jan. 8, 2025 It’s Saturday night in January, a brisk 15 degrees, and your furnace suddenly conks out. Who are you going to call? Certainly not an overseas help desk! You want a qualified, local person at your house immediately, if not sooner. That’s just one reason why heating, ventilation and air conditioning/refrigeration (HVACR) specialists will always be in demand. “You can’t call China or India to get your furnace or air conditioner fixed,” said Don Steeby, professor of HVACR at Grand Rapids Community College. “Good service technicians are highly valued and greatly in demand.” But that’s just one of the many opportunities open to people with a degree in HVACR.  “I get calls every week from companies that need HVACR experts,” Steeby said. “Some of them might surprise you. For example, Founders Brewery needed 12 certified boiler operators to keep their operations running 24/7. Wholesalers like Johnstone Supply need people who can design entire HVAC systems. Pretty much any business or property manager needs some element of HVACR.” GRCC has put together an excellent  certificate program for students who want to get up and running quickly in this field. The required 13 classes can be completed in about eight months, or two full-time semesters. Most of the lecture-style courses are offered online, and the rest of the work is hands-on in the Main Campus lab. An HVACR certificate qualifies you for an entry level position.  “This field is very high tech,” Steeby said. “No one can know everything about everything. We teach the fundamentals so that you can grow to be an expert in your area of interest. The exciting thing is that you will always have something new to learn.”  Many students earn their HVACR certificate and go to work for a few years. Then they decide to get further education in the area that interests them, such as boilers or commercial refrigeration. That’s because the real money is in design.  “Many employers are so desperate for people that they will pay for your education if you sign an employment agreement,“ Steeby said. “Our HVACR  associate degree transfers fully to Ferris, where students will learn to think like engineers and design systems as they earn a bachelor’s degree. That’s where the high-paying jobs can be found.”  Why is this career experiencing such high demand?  “It’s much the same story as with many other trades,” Steeby said. “Twenty years ago, parents were pushing their kids to get a four-year college degree. During the ensuing decades, people kept getting older and retiring. Now there’s a shortage of qualified, experienced people who can do HVACR work.” At the end of the day, HVACR is a career field with unlimited potential, constant learning and no risk of being outsourced. “Students are finding they can get a great job without spending money on a four-year degree,” Steeby said. “You can specialize in any area that interests you. And no matter what you choose, no matter how long you do it, you’ll run into things you’ve never seen before. It’s never tiresome and never boring.”  Learn more about HVACR and other programs in the Manufacturing and Applied Technology Academic Pathway at GRCC.  This story was reported by Julie Hordyk.  

Jan. 6, 2025 If you’ve ever encountered a bouncer at an event venue or bar, then you have a good visual for understanding the basic premise of cybersecurity.  “Cyber security is about defending systems infrastructure and data,” said Andrew Rozema, head of the Computer Information Systems Department at Grand Rapids Community College and nationally known cybersecurity expert. ‘If someone can get to your server — either in person or via digital means — they can damage it. Cybersecurity specialists keep bad stuff out of the network, just like a bouncer keeps unauthorized people out of a building.”  This is no small task. We’ve all heard about companies whose data and systems have been hijacked for ransom. We’ve all received the letters stating that our personal information has been compromised because some organization’s data has been hacked. Cybersecurity is, and will continue to be, a critical and growing field. It’s also constantly evolving. “There are fundamentals that don’t change,” Rozema said. “Some things, like internetworking protocols from the 80s, are still in use. On the flip side, new threats and new ‘weapons,’ if you will, pop up every day. We’re always in an ‘arms race’ against malicious people who want to do harm. A cybersecurity expert is constantly working to understand the latest points of vulnerability and fix them. If you enter this field, you are signing up to be a lifelong learner.” GRCC’s program has received designation by the Committee for National Security (part of the National Security Agency) as a Center of Academic Excellence.  “GRCC was only the second community college in the state to receive this designation from the NSA,” Rozema said. “I love attending cybersecurity conferences and seeing our former students giving programs and talks. We have a serious program.”  So how can someone approach cybersecurity as a learning opportunity? There are three basic options. First, GRCC offers a Cyber Security  certificate . These program courses align with the needs of industry-recognized certifications. The certificate is a great option for someone who is pivoting into cyber security from another field.  Second, the certificate can be stacked into an associate degree. The electives of this certificate program can be combined with other requirements for an associate degree, such as English and math. This is an excellent option for someone seeking an entry-level position in cybersecurity.   And third, GRCC offers a pre-cybersecurity  associate degree specifically tailored for transfer to a four-year institution, where students will complete a bachelor’s degree. This “3+1” program is set up so that students complete three years at GRCC and then one year at Ferris State University or Davenport University. The degree is also highly transferable to other institutions such as Grand Valley State University.  Once you have a degree in cyber security, there’s no shortage of opportunities.  According to  cyberseek.org , from September 2023 through August 2024, there were only 83 cybersecurity workers available for every 100 cybersecurity jobs demanded by employers. Michigan has close to 10,000 job openings in this field.   “Cybersecurity is universal,” Rozema said. “Every organization needs it. Whether you’re working directly for a large company, or for a managed security service provider that provides services to smaller and mid-size organizations, cyber security is here to stay.”  Learn more about  cybersecurity and other computer information systems programs at GRCC.  This story was reported by Julie Hordyk.