This spring semester, which began January 6, 2022, Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) launched a new Civil Engineering Technology degree program at SRTC-Tifton. The six-semester course of study will prepare students for a variety of engineering-related career paths. A recent economic study funded by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) projected a 10% growth in occupations related to Civil Engineering through 2029. During 2020, Tift County, specifically, experienced a significant increase in engineering-related occupations. Currently, the Georgia Department of Transportation has approximately 600 job vacancies related to Civil Engineering.

Tammy Barnes, Drafting Technology instructor at SRTC-Tifton, will serve as faculty for the Civil Engineering program. After earning her Drafting Technology degree from the former Southwest Georgia Technical College, Barnes went to work with the City of Moultrie Engineering Department. There, she spent eight years working with some of the best architects and civil engineers in Georgia, designing roundabouts, sidewalks, roads, and parks for the city. Barnes says that the experience she gained during those years has deepened the knowledge and training that she can now impart to her Civil Engineering students. Albany Technical College faculty will provide additional instruction through an eCampus partnership. The TCSG’s new eCampus platform launched in 2021 and allows students from across Georgia to enroll in online courses offered by other TCSG colleges.

“I am so excited about the new Civil Engineering Technology program,” said Barnes. “It has been a passion project of mine for some time now. I look forward to seeing our students excel in the field of Civil Engineering. The job opportunities are endless, especially in Georgia. The recently-passed federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will further expand the need for more engineers and drafters.”

Levi Warren of Camilla is on track to be SRTC’s first Civil Engineering graduate. He decided to pursue Civil Engineering to improve his contribution to Agri-Comm, his family’s agricultural construction business. Already, he says that the program has given him a better understanding of the design and engineering of the peanut elevators, grain bins, dumpers, and warehouses that his family builds.

Levi enjoys the hands-on nature of the program. “The program is not just a series of lectures,” he said. “In this class, you are learning by doing the work yourself instead of listening to a teacher explain theory while you sit and take notes.” In the future, Levi is eyeing a career in land surveying. While land surveying is a lucrative career path, he says that he also sees that job as a way to help his hometown by providing this service to Camilla.

The Associate of Applied Science degree program will prepare students for immediate employment at the technical level in engineering design, drafting, surveying, and construction. The program will provide students with the theory and practice necessary to move into the workforce with surveying firms, engineering consultants, state and local government, public works, construction companies, highway departments, and more. Students may choose a general civil engineering tract or a surveying specialization. For more information about the new degree program, including a full curriculum outline, visit: https://southernregional.edu/college-catalog/current/programs/civil-engineering-technol.

SRTC offers over 130 degree, diploma, and certificate programs that are designed to get you quickly into your desired career, and 28 general education courses that transfer to the University System of Georgia institutions and 19 private colleges and universities in Georgia. SRTC has instructional sites located in Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Grady, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Thomas, Tift, Turner, and Worth counties for the convenience of our students. The College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. For the most up-to-date information on registration, class dates, and program offerings, log on to www.southernregional.edu.

Summer semester begins May 12. Don’t wait, enroll today!