Activity 1
“Diagnose the line”: a one-period activity
A packaging line goes down. Teams get the symptoms and work the same fault tree a maintenance technician would follow. Runs on paper or a screen. No lab required.
You already know this pathway works. Here's the proof, and the lesson plan.
Program-to-career maps, current Dallas-Fort Worth wage data, employer contacts, and classroom-ready material. Built for a counselor carrying 397 students (the Texas average) and for a teacher who has one period, not one semester, to make this land.
No login. No email required. Everything on this page is free to use, copy, and hand out.
Start here
Five things, one download.
- Program-to-career alignment sheetsWhich DFW college programs map to which roles, with current pay bands and the DFW employers hiring for them.Download PDF
- A slide deck for a career unitEditable, no branding lock. Drop it into what you already teach.Download Slides
- The parent conversation guideThe same one we give families, so you're not contradicting each other.Download PDF
- Funding one-pager[DFW tuition program] eligibility, what it covers, and what it doesn't.Download PDF
For the classroom
Something to do on Tuesday.
The toolkit above is advising paperwork. This is teaching material, built to fit one period, run without equipment, and survive a room of sixteen-year-olds.
Activity 2
Wage math with real Dallas-Fort Worth numbers
Students build a first-year budget from the verified wage data further down this page, then compare it against what the job they assumed they'd take actually pays.
Activity 3
Competition and program tie-ins
Maps the four roles to SkillsUSA and robotics events you may already run, and to the DFW college programs that continue the pathway after graduation.
Editable and unbranded: drop it into what you already teach. Looking for video? See classroom-ready video below. Want a technician in the room? Request a tour or speaker.
The numbers you can defend
Every figure here links to its government source.
You get challenged by parents and administrators. Here are citations, not claims.
| Measure | DFW figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial machinery mechanics, median | DFW figure$63,380 | SourceBLS OEWS ↗ |
| Same role, Texas median | DFW figure$61,930 | SourceBLS OEWS ↗ |
| Retail salespersons, DFW median | DFW figure$33,400 | SourceBLS OEWS ↗ |
| First-line retail supervisors, DFW median | DFW figure$47,320 | SourceBLS OEWS ↗ |
| Projected Texas growth, industrial machinery mechanics | DFW figure+22% (2024 to 2034, statewide) | SourceTexas Workforce Commission ↗ |
| Average annual openings, same role | DFW figure6,380 / yr (Texas) | SourceTexas Workforce Commission ↗ |
"They could just work retail."
Dallas-Fort Worth medians: $33,400 retail, $63,380 maintenance technician. Every figure on this page is federal and linked.
If a parent or administrator challenges a number you got here, send them the link. We'd rather be checked than believed.
Map a program to a paycheck
Start from a program, a role, or a county.
See the roles a program leads to, what those roles pay in Dallas-Fort Worth, which employers hire for them, and how long the credential takes.
Search by programAny DFW college certificate or associate degree.ProgramsSearch by roleMaintenance, robotics, quality, controls.RolesSearch by countyWhat's within driving distance.Near you
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Tuition-free programs
[DFW tuition-free or tuition-assistance programs: what is covered, how many programs, at which colleges, eligibility, and the source link.] Students still pay fees and equipment costs.
See tuition-free programs by campus →
Pathways for a student still enrolled
They don't have to wait until graduation.
Work-based learning placements
Employers currently accepting WBL students, by region.
Registered apprenticeships
Earn while enrolled, with the employers running them.
Internships and co-ops
Summer and term-time, by industry.
Dual enrollment into DFW colleges
Stack credentials before a diploma.
CTE pathway alignment
How these map to pathways you already report on.
Get an employer in front of your students
Plant tours, guest speakers, career-day exhibitors.
DFW manufacturers who have said yes to hosting students, searchable by county, industry, and what they'll host.
Your request goes straight to the employer. Not to us, and not to a general inbox. Each manufacturer names their own contact and keeps their own availability current, so you're talking to the person who can actually say yes.
Every employer card shows when they last confirmed their details. If a contact is stale or nobody replies, flag it and we'll chase the employer to update their profile.
Report an out-of-date contactShow, don't tell
Classroom-ready video. Nothing longer than four minutes.
Virtual plant tours and day-in-the-life footage you can play in a career unit or send home to a skeptical parent.
When the parent is the obstacle
You recommend the pathway. The parent overrules you. We built for that.
The floor
The paycheck
The ceiling
The robots
Take the toolkit. Use what works. Ignore the rest.
No account, no email, no follow-up sequence.
Something missing that would actually help you?Tell us what to build →
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