At Bellingham Technical College, the Process Technology Program will prepare you for a position as a process technician or operator for employers in power generation, refining, manufacturing, and many other industries. Process technicians work to ensure the safety standards of production and assembly lines, and oversee quality for an employer’s processes. Currently, our primary employers in Washington State are the four refineries in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Graduates have also gone to work in other water treatment, power generation, and manufacturing facilities in our region, across Washington State, and beyond.

Manufacturing is the most diverse sector of the U.S. economy, from the immense variety of goods produced to the technology used to create them. Turning ideas and materials into valuable products requires highly skilled employees who are trained in advanced manufacturing. BTC’s programs in advanced manufacturing are ideal for students with mechanical aptitude or a strong foundation in math, science, and technology. You’ll learn skills needed for a career in high demand, dynamic industries such as manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, and energy.

Data are provided on a program (not credential) level

75% ¹ BTC graduate placement rate (Employment Security Department- WA and OR only)
94% ³ BTC graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
91% ³ BTC in-field graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)

This program has rolling admission.

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 degree, students will be able to:

• Appraise the typical hazards found in process plants, basic PPE, and know the requirements of regulating bodies regarding safety, health, and environmental issues (OSHA, DPT, EPA).
• Combine mathematics, chemistry, and physics theory to apply to process applications such as fluid flow, the nature of heat, chemical reaction, boiling points, vapor pressure and electrical currents.
• Recognize typical organizational structures, economics, and quality control systems of the process technology industry.
• Appraise fundamentals of refining and power generation processes; identify core functions and principles of operation of typical process equipment such as pumps, compressors, filters and dryers, lubrication systems, valves, piping systems, and draw from memory process flow diagrams.
• Integrate the principles of process automatic control and data control systems (DSC) to manage simulated DCS scenarios.

Over the next 10 years, according to future retirement data, there will be a great need for trained process operators in the industry, both locally and nationally. Process Technology Program students can expect to earn excellent wages and continue to have job opportunities. Employers across a range of industries want to hire people with strong problem-solving and hands-on skills, who are trained and ready to go.

A total of 84% of BTC Process Technology graduates are employed within nine months of graduation. Of graduates employed in-field, their median wage nine months after graduating is $96,811. Please see “Employment Information” above for more details.

Criminal convictions may restrict or prevent student participation with internships and employment in this industry.

Our processing technology graduates are readily employable and actively recruited by local, regional, national, and international industries. BTC collaborates with local industry, employers, and our state and local governments to determine the skills our workforce requires to keep the economy strong.

Process technicians may find career opportunities in a variety of industries including: chemical, petrochemical, refining, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, power generation, utilities, food and beverage, and water treatment. In many instances, process operators will interface with other technical personnel, such as maintenance electricians, instrument technicians, chemical laboratory technicians, plant engineers, industrial trainers and managers.