BTC’s Composites Engineering Technology program provides hands-on experience focused on aerospace and industrial manufacturing. This discipline combines mechanical design, fabrication, and material science, as students apply theoretical engineering principles with practical hands-on technical projects. Students design, build, and test products using innovative polymer materials like carbon fiber.

Graduates are prepared for careers in CAD/CAM, CNC automation, metrology, Quality Assurance, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Ultra-Sound Inspection (UT), materials testing, assembly, and more. By specializing in composites engineering, students are prepared to fill a growing need for skilled engineering technicians around Washington state. Graduates from this program have high earning potential with opportunity for growth and upward mobility.

With transferable core classes in math, science, communications, and technical writing, you’ll be well positioned to transfer to a four-year college or university to complete your bachelor’s degree in engineering or advanced manufacturing. 

Data are provided on a program (not credential) level

94% BTC graduate placement rate ¹

Students may begin working toward this degree quarterly.

Admissions application and assessment testing in Reading, Math and Writing is required. Your score on the test and/or your previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.

After successfully completing the AAS-T degree, students will be able to:

• Apply fundamentals of material science to solving hands-on engineering design and fabrication problems.
• Utilize CAD/CAM software to build 3D parametric models.  
• Create CNC programs for machining and automation.
• Draft Detailed Engineering Drawings for aerospace manufacturing and related fields per industry standards (ANSI).
• Solve problems in composite design and fabrication including vacuum bagging, wet-layup, infusion, pre-impregnated layup, out-of-autoclave, additive and subtractive manufacturing.
• Apply Quality Assurance (QA) methodology and inspection techniques including Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Ultra-Sound inspection, and metrology. 
• Perform material testing and analysis including tensile and compression testing.

Employment in this field is expected to increase. Job openings for assemblers and fabricators, machine operators, and production workers and supervisors vary according to occupational specialty.

The average annual wage for this field is $79,144, with an earning potential of $92,331 per year. *

Potential positions for Composites graduates include:

• CAD/CAM CNC Programmer (both clean room and post cure)
• CNC machine operator (both clean room and post cure)
• Non-destructive testing machine operator, ultra-sound tester (NDT)
• Metrologist (Coordinate measuring machine operator (CMM))
• Manufacturing planner
• Quality Assurance Inspector
• Lab testing technician / material science / Destructive materials tester (load testing)

Composites graduates have the potential to enter the following fabrication industries:

• Aerospace, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• Automotive, Mass Transit
• Marine
• Medical
• Sports and Recreation
• Wind Energy