Manufacturing Specialist
Texas Instruments 

“I was looking for an accounting job when I first came to the United States in 2000; my bachelor’s degree in India was in accounting, and I had 10 years of experience in that field. My sister-in-law in the United States was looking for a job at the same time, and I went along with her on some job interviews. When she interviewed at Atmel (a semiconductor manufacturing facility, now closed), I asked about a job for myself in accounting, but all they were hiring at the time were manufacturing specialists. So I took a test and did OK and decided I would make the job switch so that I could pay my bills. Now I work as a manufacturing specialist at Texas Instruments (TI).

“So I got a job in a different area than I originally trained for, and now I’m going back to school to learn more about my new career so that I can keep advancing. I found that Eastfield had a program in Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, and I want to earn my associate degree in that. I’ve already taken four courses, two each semester since I’m also working full-time at TI.

“At TI, an associate degree in a technical field will allow me to get a technician’s job, a step up from my current job. Then if I get a bachelor’s degree, I can eventually become an engineer and keep moving further and further up the career ladder.

“When I came to Eastfield, I got so much help. I didn’t know where to go at first or who would help me, and I felt like a blind man. But Chuck Dale took an interest in me and helped me to start taking classes that would go toward my associate degree in Semiconductor Manufacturing. This college really took me in, and it was the best place for me to start my education in the United States.

“My education at Eastfield has given me technical knowledge I never learned before, and the people here are so supportive. Whenever I ask for anything, I get the help I need to keep going in my education so that I can keep advancing in my career.”

Nitin Shah is classified as an XMS — transfer manufacturing specialist — which means that he can work within various areas of Texas Instruments’ silicon wafer production facilities. He executes various processes in the manufacture of silicon wafers and is required to become recertified every year to keep his job skills current.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting at Osmania University in the state of Andrhrapradesh in his native India and worked in the accounting field for 10 years before emigrating to the United States in 2000.

Currently taking Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology courses at Eastfield College, he plans to earn an associate degree so that he can become an equipment engineering (EE) technician at TI; he hopes to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering.