When Austin arrived at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, his teacher encouraged him seize all the opportunities available to LCTI students. The Whitehall High School senior took that advice to heart.

Austin joined LCTI’s FBLA chapter, served as a chapter officer and participated in state-level competitions. He also earned grades high enough to secure a spot in the National Technical Honor Society.

Through LCTI’s dual enrollment program, Austin took several courses at Lehigh Carbon Community College. And with assistance from the school-to-career coordinator, he interned for LCTI’s IT Department last summer and is currently on co-op with Lutron Electronics.

Austin’s studies and experiences put him on the path toward a lucrative career in information technology, he says. “When I came here, I found out what I wanted to do.”

This fall, Austin will attend Central Penn College where he plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in networking security before launching a career in the same field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for information security analysts was $95,510 in 2017 and the projected employment growth rate through 2026 is four times the average.

Learn more about the Computer & Networking Technology program and how it prepares high school students for college and career success.