Northwest ISD Navigator Magazine October 2017 | Page 10

As part of a generation where technology advances create new
job categories on a seemingly daily basis, students on Byron
Nelson’s solar car team are aware of the advantages they’re
gaining in a competitive job market.
According to statistics from the Solar Foundation, the amount
of solar industry jobs has increased by 20 percent per year
over the last four years. The foundation’s data indicates the
amount of solar jobs has tripled since 2010, and one in every
50 new jobs added in the United States was created by the solar
industry. Additionally, Texas ranked among the top five states
for the most solar industry jobs in 2016.
Byron Nelson solar car team members cited the skills the
program teaches them as important learning that could one
day provide careers in a related industry. Multiple students said
designing the car and working on tricky electrical engineering
are examples of experiences no other program could give them.
For senior team member Nicholas Mounce, who is still
deciding his collegiate and career goals, taking part in the solar
car team served as a way to learn complex topics that could
help in the future.
“A couple of my friends were on the team before and they
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recommended it, saying it could give you skills for a good
profession,” he said. “It’s really enlightening, because coming
in, you don’t know what to expect. Once you start getting into
it, you learn it’s a lot of fun and you see how this could become
a career. I’m still not quite sure what I want to do, but knowing
all this – from the welding to the electrical part – is helpful.”
Joseph Archer, a junior team member, summed up his
experience by stressing the benefits making a solar car can
provide down the road, saying, “Solar power is a renewable
energy source, and it’s something that’s only going to become
more important in time. I’m very interested in engineering, and
I knew I could learn a lot from this.” n
To follow the Byron Nelson Solar
Car team on Twitter, search for
the account @bnhs_solarcar.
The account will become more
active as they begin building their
vehicle for the annual Solar Car
Challenge, which takes place in
the summer.