Veterans
Veteran Education & Training
OP-TEC recognizes and values the highly-skilled veterans reentering the civil workforce and knows that optics and photonics careers can offer great opportunities for veterans. This page is dedicated to providing information on optics and photonics education and assisting veterans in determining the educational and career opportunities available to them in this high-demand, high-paying field.
What is photonics? Photonics is the technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. Photonics involves cutting-edge uses of lasers, optics, fiber optics, and electro-optical devices in numerous and diverse fields of technology–alternate energy, manufacturing, health care, telecommunication, environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, solid-state lighting, and many others.
Learn More About Photonics
View Veteran Resources
Veteran Career Opportunities in Photonics Enabled Fields
Because it encompasses applications in numerous and diverse fields of technology, photonics offers technicians a wide variety of employment opportunities and great potential for personal advancement. Some potential employment fields for a photonics technician include:
- Aerospace Technology
- Communications
- Forensic Science & Analysis
- Geographic Information Systems & Global Positioning
- Defense & Homeland Security
- Imaging & Remote Sensing
- Lighting and Illumination (LED’s)
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- Manufacturing
- Medicine
- Nanotechnology
- Optical Fabrication
- Solar-Cell Technology
- Transportation
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Educational and Training Requirements:
Photonics specialists – These technicians work in research and development laboratories, as team members of original equipment manufacturers in lasers, optics, and photonics; and as field service technicians. They are typically graduates of AAS programs that focus specifically on optics, lasers, and photonics.
Technicians in photonics-enabled fields – These technicians are typically graduates of technical education programs in fields in which photonics technology enables processes to be accomplished at higher efficiencies or with greater precision. (The use of lasers in manufacturing for cutting, welding, measuring, and aligning is an example of this “enabling” principle).
Colleges Offering Photonics AAS Degrees
There are several colleges located throughout the nation who can assist veterans in determining what type of photonics technician program is most compatible with their experience and interests. Many of these programs boast 100% placement rates and beginning salaries averaging $47,000. If you don’t see your area in the list below, please contact OP-TEC for assistance at op‑tec@op‑tec.org or 254-751-9000.
ARIZONA (Tucson)
Pima Community College – West Campus
2202 W. Anklam Road
Tucson, AZ 85709-0215
Contact 1: Chien-Wei Han
Instructor, Science & Technology
520-206-6829
chan@pima.edu
Contact 2: Dr. Lazaro Hong
Technology Department Chair
520-206-6603 Office
520-206-6902 Fax
Lazaro.Hong@pima.edu
CONNECTICUT (Norwich)
Three Rivers Community College
574 New London Turnpike
Norwich, CT 06360
Contact: Daniel Courtney
Professor
860-215-9417
dcourtney@trcc.commnet.edu
FLORIDA (Fort Pierce)
Indian River State College
3209 Virginia Avenue
Fort Pierce, FL. 34981
Contact: Dr. Chrys Panayiotou
Department Chair
772-462-7621
cpanayio@irsc.edu
ILLINOIS (Grayslake)
College of Lake County
19351 West Washington Street
Grayslake, IL 60030
Contact: Professor Steve Dulmes
Laser/Photonics/Optics/CAD/CAM
847-543-2330
sdulmes@clcillinois.edu
IOWA (Ottumwa)
Indian Hills Community College
525 Grandview Avenue
Ottumwa, IA 52501
Contact 1: Professor Frank Reed
1-800-726-2585, Ext. 5211 or 641-683-5211
frank.reed@indianhills.edu
Contact 2: Tyler Wyngarden
Career and Technical Information Coordinator
1-800-726-2585 Ext. 5269 or 641-683-5269
tyler.wyngarden@indianhills.edu
NEW JERSEY (Blackwood)
Camden County College
200 College Drive
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Contact 1: Dr. Fred P. Seeber
856-227-7200,-#4475
fseeber@camdencc.edu
Contact 2: Dr. Larry Chatman
856-227-7200, #4523
lchatman@camdencc.edu
NEW MEXICO (Albuquerque)
Central New Mexico Community College
525 Buena Vista Dr. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Contact: Michael Cranney, Associate Dean
School of Applied Technologies
505-224-3770
mcranney@cnm.edu
NORTH CAROLINA (Lillington)
Central Carolina Community College
1075 East Cornelius Harnett Blvd.
Lillington, NC 27546
Contact: Gary Beasley, Lead Instructor
Lead Instructor, Laser and Photonics Technology
910-893-9101
gbeasley@cccc.edu
OHIO (Cincinnati)
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
3520 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45223
Contact: Larry Feist
Program Chair Laser Major
513-569-1428
larry.feist@cincinnatistate.edu
