- Michigan is home to the motor city.

Over 180,000 people in Michigan are employed in automotive manufacturing alone.

But it isn't just manufacturing.

There are automotive careers in engineering, repair, design, sales and so much more.

In "The Career Center," we're going to take a look at automotive jobs.

- [Announcer] "The Career Center" is made possible by General Motors.

(dramatic upbeat music) And by these supporters.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat video game music) (saw grinding) (monitor beeping) (wrench cranking) (computer beeping) (birds chirping) (students chattering) (bell rings) - And it can go 350 miles in one charge.

I really think that EVs are so cool.

- That sounds amazing, that's really cool.

- What are you guys talking about?

- The automotive technology program just got a new EV and I got to ride in it.

- Oh, that's neat, how was it?

- It's really fast.

- Oh, cool.

- Okay, let's not talk about how fast our school's new EV can go.

But Sam, I was just looking at some videos online about EVs.

If you think they're cool, I think we should check them out.

- All right, that sounds epic.

(gentle upbeat music) (cursor clicking) - The question of what should one do with their life is like the biggest one there is.

What is it that actually makes you happy?

And they found it's dedicating yourself to a cause that's bigger than yourself.

(soft inspiring music) My name is Ben Grandy.

I work for City CarShare.

I'm the electric vehicle technician.

I manage the electric vehicles, the plug-in vehicles and the electric bike program.

So we have about 50 plug-in electric and fully electric cars.

The way that our system works, you go up to the car and you have this key fob, that technology runs off the 12 volt battery that's in the car.

So part of what I do, just in terms of monitoring the cars is constantly pinging the cars and going, okay, are the batteries fresh?

What needs to be jumped?

This is a solar charge controller, so we're experimenting putting solar panels on them.

When I was studying landscape architecture and had this realization that no matter how well you design a site, it's ultimately constrained by transportation.

We've just passed the 50% mark of people that are living in cities.

It's just gonna continue to expand these strains on carbon, on resources, on traffic congestion, on pollution.

So we have to think about new ideas about how we make a transportation system work in that sort of context.

And shared vehicle use and electric bicycle use to me is kind of the holy grail of that.

Growing up I took a lot of different courses in high school.

I took a lot of different courses in college.

There's a philosophy course I took, it was called Logic and Reasoning.

It goes over just kind of how to think well, logical fallacies.

Before I studied landscape architecture I was an electrical engineer.

A lot of people see design and engineering as these diametrically opposed things, right?

And I found that there's kind of this war going on where like designers are all about aesthetics and engineers are all about the functional side of things.

To me, there shouldn't be that distinction.

I think communication and like psychology, and just understanding like how to be received in the way that you intend is like a really important skill.

There's this really good quote from da Vinci that I like.

He says, "Art is never finished, it's only abandoned."

That's kind of how engineering and design is, right?

It's never, you never get to a point you're like, oh that's perfect, that's done.

You just reach a higher threshold and then you start asking questions of, okay, now that we've gotten this far, what's the next step?

How can we improve this?

I think it's good to kind of put that perfection on a pedestal.

That's something that's always out of reach that you're always thinking about, how can we improve this service or experience or good or whatever.

And it doesn't let you ever kind of stagnate and say, oh this is good enough.

Kind of keeps you pushing.

(upbeat inspiring music) (upbeat music) - So Sam, how did you find out about our school's new EV?

- The CTE program was having an open house and they were showing it off last week.

- Oh, I went to that too.

I went to the media and graphics program.

I've been thinking a lot about going into media, you know, like an on-camera personality.

(stars twinkle) - It's so great that both of you went.

- Well, you're the one who told us about it.

- Yeah, you said it was a great opportunity to see the full scope of what our school offers to our students.

- Yeah, that does sound like something I'd say say.

- Yeah, I went there to learn more about engineering programs and classes.

- Well, I'm glad you both went, and I'm glad you got something out of it.

(upbeat music) - [Student] Ready to charge up your career?

The market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly.

Get news for you if you want to work in the EV industry as popularity for these battery powered cars and trucks rises, so will the demand for the jobs that support them.

Today I'm at the Zero Net Energy Center in Detroit, Michigan to learn about these electrifying opportunities.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

- Hey, I'm Andre Crook, business rep here at the Net Zero Energy Building at IBEW Local 58 where we have several automated systems that support battery storage, solar and geothermal.

We also have several EV chargers that support the EV network.

- Is that what we're working on today?

- Absolutely, let me show you.

(upbeat music) - [Student] So this is a charger, how does it work?

- They are fed from two 60 amp breakers that come through a series of conduits back over through that junction box there into the ground and here, which is a controller for the power.

The charger is a power point, it goes from the charger to the car where the car regulates the charging.

So the car is the actual charger.

It's letting this piece of equipment know how much charge it's gonna take and how fast it's gonna take it.

- How do you prepare to work on these?

- Well, first you have to make sure it's electrically safe to work on it.

You want to turn the power off on it, on the unit.

Whenever possible, you want to cut the power to anything you're gonna be working on electrically and you lock out, tag out.

You lock out the breaker, make sure nobody can go behind you and turn it on.

And then when you come in you open up, open it up and then you test it to make sure that it's dead and then you proceed to work on it.

- Well let's get to work.

- Cool, let's open this thing up.

(upbeat music) So we have security screws on here that you have to have a specialty tool to take off.

Because you just don't want anybody walking up and pulling this thing off of here.

So I'm gonna start by unscrewing these.

And you got one more over here.

Now we take the other security screws off that the installer put in very well, hopefully my little screwdriver will be able to pull this out without snapping it.

- [Student] Why is there so much security involved with this?

- Because we don't want, we don't want people to get hurt, or do any kind of malicious damage to the charger, right?

Because it is out in the public, right?

So you want to have it secured so it's able, be able to functionally use it.

So here we are.

Here it is, you have the incoming power cables which are 240, 60 amp wires from a breaker on the inside.

You have a controlled transformer, that turns the power from AC to DC and inverted over and sends it over into the, into the car.

And then we have on this side you have the card that's used for cellular, for the cellular network and then this card right here it's for you having to read it, with your phone through the app.

You'll be able to come up and scan it and it syncs up with your phone.

- There's way more to this than just plugging your car into the outlet.

- Yes it is.

Because you know there's a lot of technology, it's a lot of skill and knowledge that goes into understanding how to handle these, handle the technology and install it.

- Do you think this is a good job for a young person to go into?

- This isn't a job, this is a career and yes it is an extremely good career to go into to be able to take care of yourself or your family, or any, or and be able to lead yourself to a good future.

- Is there anything I can do to help?

- Yes, since it's de-energized and the power is off I'll let you put in, a little couple of screws and put it back on the post.

(upbeat music) All right, look like you all good here.

Look like you're done.

- Thanks for training me today.

- No problem.

- It was time to see an EV up close, and learn what makes it different from the cars I'm used to seeing on the road.

Fortunately, they had an EV pickup truck on site.

So what makes this different from other vehicles on the road?

- Well, it's electric.

It's all electric.

There are different features that this has, that other vehicles don't have.

So right here, this is where we charge the vehicle.

This takes a regular charger that you can find all around town and for long trips you need to get going really quick, it has a fast charger.

Check this out.

- Whoa, where's the motor?

- There's no need for a motor, it's all electric.

There's no radiator, hence no grill.

There's no need for oil changes or transmission.

Similar to other vehicles, instead of a gas gauge, this has a range gauge.

Let you know how much battery life you have between charges.

Then over here with your navigation, it'll allow you to know where all the chargers are along your way.

As you can see around town we have more chargers than there are gas stations.

- Does it drive any differently than any other car?

- Would you like to drive it?

(upbeat music) - You're doing good, you're doing good.

- Thank you.

What advice do you have for young people that wanna do this?

- Everybody thinks that EVs are brand new, and this just only happened a couple of years ago.

But Martha Ford was first to drive an EV, over a hundred years ago.

She knew about going green in the very beginning and how efficient it is.

This is the reason why I want more young people to get involved because it's not going anywhere.

Are you interested in the career?

- Yes, I am interested in the career.

- We're going green because that's the way we need to go, and electrical is leading the way.

(upbeat music) - The automotive tech CD program is really interesting.

Some of our students go right from that program into working as an automotive technician.

- How does that work?

- Well, in Michigan, you need to be a certified mechanic in order to get paid to fix cars, trucks and other vehicles.

But there is a trainee certification that you can do that allows you to repair vehicles under the supervision of a certified mechanic.

- Don't people have to go to college for automotive technology?

- They can.

And there are actually a lot of different programs for students who are interested in automotive technology.

Let's take a look at the program they have at Macomb Community College.

(upbeat music) (cursor clicking) (upbeat rock music) - Automotive technicians of today are not your grandfather's automotive mechanics.

Technicians today are working in very complicated, computerized machines that have all kinds of systems in them to help drivers be more efficient.

So if you want to study to be an automotive technician at Macomb Community College, you've got a couple options.

Our first option is the GM ASAP program, specifically for GM technicians.

Now you'll do eight weeks in the classroom and then eight weeks in a dealership.

That dealership experience is paid and you'll be working with automotive technicians in gaining real world experience working on customer vehicles.

The other program is our automotive service technician program.

That is for an associate's degree.

- The associate's program takes a little longer the ASAP program, you get more experience at dealerships in between your courses.

That way you get the hands-on experience and inside the classroom experience as well.

- Technology and industry has transformed the way we drive and the way cars operate on the road.

And so at Macomb, our curriculum is always changing too.

We've added courses in battery electric vehicles and hybrids.

We've added courses in advanced technology such as ADOS and self-driving vehicles.

Automotive technicians, believe it or not are actually helpers.

People come to an automotive technician, to a dealership, or to a repair shop when their car stops working.

People have to go to work, pick up and drop off their kids from school and we need our transportation.

The automotive technician can help people solve that problem.

- Just had fun working on cars, getting my hands dirty.

So I wanted to find a career where I could get my hands dirty and do some stuff hands on and problem solve, and help people too.

- Federal statistics will show that annually, we're looking at about 73,000 positions opening up in the United States.

Just in Michigan, that's about 2000 a year.

Our program graduates about a hundred people a year, and so you can imagine the competition for our students is pretty fierce.

Often automotive technicians are paid a flat rate and what that means is that they're paid by the job not by the hour.

And so if your hourly rate, or your hourly pay is $25 an hour, that is your flat rate.

If you do a job that is rated at two hours but it takes you three hours to get it done, you're gonna make less than that $25.

However, if your flat rate is 25, and you're able to work faster because you are a skilled and motivated, hardworking technician, your income is going to grow quite a lot.

While hourly rates can range anywhere between 18 and $30 an hour, your annual compensation can range anywhere from 45 to over a hundred thousand dollars a year.

A great automotive technician is somebody who is a good problem solver, is motivated and driven to do good work and wants to make a difference in people's lives.

Automotive technicians are often compensated based on the quality and completeness of their work and also have an opportunity to work faster or slower, more or less to set their own schedules, to live the lives that they wanna live.

So if you want flexibility, a great wage, and an opportunity to earn as much as you want, automotive technician is a good career for you.

- It's just a feeling that I get just from making somebody else happy, whether if it's family, or a customer.

Just knowing that I can help somebody, it's a great feeling.

(upbeat rock music) (gentle upbeat music) - Have either of you ever heard of mind mapping before?

- Yeah, I think we did it in my creative writing class to come up with story ideas.

- Yeah, very interesting.

So I have a similar idea for us.

Can I give you each one of these.

- Homework for a career counseling session?

- Kind of, so here's how it works.

With a mind map, you're just taking a lot of information and you're organizing it in a visual way.

I'm gonna run through an example and I'm gonna tell you how this works.

So you're gonna start with a prompt and the prompt that I'm gonna give both of you to think about is what type of work environment can you envision yourselves in?

So what you'll need to do is write "work environment" in that center circle, and then you're going to think of all the different kinds of work environments that you can imagine being in.

So for me, I prefer quiet work environments.

That's one type of environment I work in.

So I'm going to create a new circle with quiet work environment in it, and I'm gonna connect it to that center circle and then I'll add other work environments that I can imagine myself in, and anything that might be related to any of those ideas.

And I'm just gonna keep adding circles and drawing lines connecting these connected ideas.

So I want you to figure this out for yourselves and then bring that back next time, because we'll use it in our next step of career exploration.

- Okay, this actually seems kind of fun.

- Good, so the other thing I wanted to mention is, you know I've been working on my 21st century skills videos.

- Again?

- And I'd love to show you the latest video I've made on critical thinking, so let's take a look.

(upbeat music) (cursor clicking) (gentle rock music) Imagine this, you're scrolling through social media and you come across an ad that promises that buying Product X will change your life.

Do you drop $99 in four easy installments without a second thought?

Or do you question the claim and do some research before you buy in?

How you answer might depend on your critical thinking skills.

Hi, I'm Andrea Pisani.

I work with students every day to help them explore their passions and make great futures for themselves.

Let's talk about the skills everyone needs to make it in the 21st century.

21st century skills.

Critical thinking is a 21st century learning skill.

Let's take a deep look at what it is, why it's important, and how we can improve our critical thinking skills for the 21st century.

Let's face it, in today's world, we are bombarded with information left and right and it's hard to know what to believe.

But fear not my friends, that's where critical thinking skills come in.

With critical thinking, you're not just taking things at face value, you're asking questions, gathering evidence, analyzing and interpreting that evidence and then making an informed decision.

Critical thinking is essential for good decision making, problem solving, and thinking and learning independently.

It's not just about evaluating information, it's also about being able to reason effectively and think systematically.

Let's use the social media example from earlier.

Instead of just buying product X because the ad says it will change your life, you ask yourself, is this claim credible?

Has anyone else tried this product and had success?

What are the potential downsides?

And then you gather evidence by reading reviews, talking to friends, or even trying the product yourself.

Finally, you analyze the evidence and make a decision based on your findings.

Gathering evidence is a crucial step in critical thinking.

It's important to use multiple credible sources and to consider any potential biases.

For example, if you're researching a product, it's important to read reviews from a variety of sources.

Such as consumer reports, independent blogs, and customer reviews.

This will give you a more well-rounded understanding of the product.

Analyzing the evidence is also an important step in critical thinking.

This includes evaluating the credibility of the sources, looking for patterns and inconsistencies and considering the context.

For example, if you're researching a product, you might consider the price, the brand reputation, and the product features.

This will help you make an informed decision about whether or not to buy the product.

Making a decision based on your findings is the final step in critical thinking.

It's important to weigh the pros and cons and to consider any potential risks.

For example, if you're deciding whether or not to buy a product, you might consider the cost, the potential benefits, and any potential downsides.

Of course, critical thinking skills aren't just important for making important life decisions.

Like whether or not to buy that miracle product on social media,.

They're also crucial for problem solving and independent thinking and learning.

Also, according to a study performed by Heather A. Butler, and written about in "Scientific American," "Individuals with good critical thinking skills experienced fewer negative life events than those who were just intelligent."

So being smart is great, but thinking critically might be better.

One great way to start honing your critical thinking skills is to simply start questioning things.

When you're reading an article, or watching a video take a step back and ask yourself what the source's biases might be, and if there's any evidence to back up their claims.

You can also try looking at a problem or situation from multiple perspectives to see if there's a different way to approach it.

Finally, practice analyzing and interpreting the information you've gathered.

This might mean breaking down an argument to see if it's logical, or looking at data to see if it supports a claim.

The more you practice this step, the better you'll get at making sense of the information you come across.

All this may sound like a lot of work but the good news is that it gets easier with practice.

And before you know it, critical thinking will become second nature to you.

Critical thinking is an essential learning skill that can help us navigate the information overload of the 21st century.

It enables us to make better decisions, solve problems and think independently.

It's not something that you can learn overnight, but by questioning, researching and staying curious, you can work on honing your critical thinking skills.

Developing this skill is a process.

According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking.

"The development of critical thinking skills is a lifelong endeavor with benefits that pay off both personal and professionally."

If you wanna learn more about 21st century skills be sure to visit our website, mifutureofwork.org.

There you'll find a series of videos that take a deeper look at each of the three L's, leadership, learning, and life skills.

And you might even find something that will make you laugh while learning.

Who knows?

(upbeat music) - I didn't think about all the different careers available in the automotive industry before now.

- I didn't realize how much went into the certifications, training, and expertise.

- And today we've only scratched the surface.

There are so many different possibilities for careers within the automotive industry.

You can get into sales, you can get into marketing, you can get into sustainability and design.

And if you're interested in learning more about careers in the auto industry, visit our website at mifutureofwork.org/automotive.

There you'll find videos, resources and more to help set you on your path.

Thanks for joining us in "The Career Center."

- [Announcer] "The Career Center" is made possible by General Motors.

(upbeat video game music) and by these supporters (dramatic upbeat music) and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(playful video game music) (inspiring music)