SWEETWATER, TEXAS — An oil field salesman is finding a second career, thanks to Texas State Technical College.
Brett Dupre, of San Angelo, said the pandemic made him pivot his career plans, but he still wanted to get his hands dirty. He remembered touring TSTC while in high school, and now he is enrolled in TSTC’s Wind Energy Technology program.
“After what happened last year, I knew I would need a change,” he said. “Since graduating high school, I worked in the oil field. My dad was an oil field salesman, so it came naturally to me. I knew I would have to move forward from that field.”
He has not regretted the decision to attend TSTC to pursue an Associate of Applied Science degree.
“It is really interesting what we learn. There is nothing like it,” Dupre said. “I like the hands-on approach because I love fixing things. I always have.”
Dupre has friends who work in the oil field and others who work on wind turbines. He said both forms of energy are needed to power Texas.
“We are going to have to have both forms of power in our future. I do not know how that is going to go, but energy needs to work together,” he said.
Dupre said he wants to be more than a salesman. TSTC Wind Energy Technology instructor Billie Jones said that is one of the best features of the program.
“We have students who enter so many different fields. It could be wind, it could be the oil field or electromechanical,” she said. “We can offer our students so much of a career option.”
One aspect of the program students enjoy most is the first climb inside the TSTC wind turbine tower in Nolan County.
“I have not climbed yet, but I am looking forward to it,” Dupre said. “I have a friend who works on the turbines, so I have been inside one.”
With his career options open after graduation, Dupre said TSTC was also a good choice because of its success in placing students in jobs.
“People really seem to do a lot more than they have to in order for us to be successful,” he said. “That is one reason I decided to enroll. This is a good place to start your career, because you will be successful in your field of study.”
TSTC offers Wind Energy Technology at the Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses.
