https://youtu.be/n9TuDMUFJJc In the classroom, students often question the future usefulness of this math equation or that science experiment. While anyone can see why English matters, and the argument can certainly be made that with history comes knowledge, math and science always seem to get the short end of the “future use” argument. However, you don’t have to end up in a laboratory or behind a calculator to find an exciting and fulfilling career in math or science. Look no further than local company Jeffords Steel to learn exactly how “Math + Science = Success”! Founder Larry Jeffords likely heard the same dismissive comments as a child, though business acumen and the decision to provide comprehensive services, from design to installation, have allowed his leading northern New York fabrication company to complete projects from northern Massachusetts to the Southern Tier. The company is well known throughout the Northeast for both structural and ornamental steel fabrication. Obviously, these projects require a variety of technicians who share a devotion to math and science. “I took structural theory, structural steel and concrete design, trigonometry, etcetera,” explains Albert Clark, chief draftsman at Jeffords Steel. “I mean I use that stuff everyday, though it was physics that really got me excited about pursuing a career in engineering.” Clark is a prime example of how applied mathematics and science differs greatly from textbooks and lab experiments. The young draftsman, who admits to having been terrified by math and science as a student, discovered his love of calculations and physics once he integrated them to create his company’s many projects. “Now I look at myself, X amount of years later, and I’m doing math and science every day,” he says. Math and science is indeed applied in the field every day at Jeffords Steel. The American Institute of Steel Construction Certified fabrication company, with projects from Boston to Syracuse, provides exceptional opportunities to put fabrication designs into place and create something that will stand the test of time. Jeffords Steel's missions is simple: provide the highest quality product using technology, a stable workforce, and a strong commitment to the community. Jeffords Steel’s projects are diverse and far-ranging and include the work within the new Madill Hall Information Technology building at St. Lawrence University and the Cancer Unit at Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, New York. From the New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro, Vermont, to the Plattsburgh Airport Expansion, the design and engineering team at Jeffords Steel creates steel fabrications that are unique to each project. Look at any project, and you quickly realize those school days of rote mathematics are long gone. But it isn’t just the design studio where Jeffords Steel employees apply the latest techniques in steel fabrication. Bruce Stallings, a machine operator, says that there are many jobs for math technology and science at the company. “I can drive around town or to another state and look at buildings and say, ‘I helped build that...I was part of that project.’ There’s nothing more rewarding than that.” Founders Larry and Judy Jeffords understand just how many opportunities there are for someone with math and science skills at their 33-year-old company. Their enterprise began in just a 30-by-30-foot rental space. Today, the company occupies 68,000 square feet of space and employs more than 120 workers in its Plattsburgh and Potsdam locations. The company, with a full fleet of tractors and trailers in service over New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, is always eyeing expansion and training opportunities to meet its stated goal: “to be the uncontested leader in the steel fabrication industry.” The expanding company features positions in a wide array of departments, including design/build, drafting, fabrication, machining and an over-the-counter service center. The design team completes all components of structural design, utilizing state-of-the-art software. The draftsmen also employ advanced SDS/2 software. Like all elements of design, the drafting is created in-house for maximum efficiency. It isn’t just the software that is industry standard; the fabrication department employs the use of all contemporary technology and machinery to manufacture the highest quality in project requirements. The machinists also utilize critical equipment—capable of being machined within one one-thousandth of an inch—for extreme precision. By storing more than $1 million in steel inventory, Jeffords Steel assures that its employees have every resource, from software to machines, and the steel required to accomplish any challenge. Whether in the classroom or the lab, those with a math and science understanding are most successful when they engage the latest technology and resources. Jeffords Steel employees are fortunate to work with contemporary techniques to meet any design or physical challenge in fabricated steel. Imagine the sense of pride you’ll feel when observing your finished work, be it the design, drafting or physical manifestation. The excitement of creating never really stops. Visit Jeffords Steel to learn more.