For individuals seeking employment, math and science skills have never been more valuable than right now. Whether you’re graduating from high school, junior college, college or graduate school, career opportunities abound for math and science specialists. Our nation’s failing infrastructure, combined with current economic growth, means that the building trades will thrive for generations. Jeffords Steel provides a prime example of just how good the future looks at one regional business. The Plattsburgh-based company is hiring across the spectrum—from structural engineers to fabrication shop employees. Founder Larry Jeffords has always loved math. He combined his academic passion with business acumen to create a company that provides comprehensive building services that include design, fabrication and installation for projects throughout the Northeast. The company is well known for both structural and ornamental steel fabrication. The success of Jeffords Steel rests on employees who’ve seized the opportunity to put their math and science skills to work. “When you build things like we do,” says Larry, “everything you do requires math skills, whether you are reading a tape rule or calculating geometry. We are always interested in people who truly love math.” When you build things like we do, everything you do requires math skills, whether you are reading a tape rule or calculating geometry Chief draftsman Albert Clark is a prime example of how applied mathematics and science differs greatly from textbooks and lab experiments. The young draftsman, who admits that as a young student he was terrified by math and science, discovered his love of calculations and physics once he began applying them to projects. “I took structural theory, structural steels and concrete design, trigonometry, etcetera, although it was physics that really got me excited about pursuing a career in engineering,” explains Clark. “Now I look at myself, X amount of years later, and I’m doing math and science every day.” Jeffords Steel’s projects are diverse and far-ranging, such as 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, Jeffords Steel’s design and engineering teams create steel fabrications that are unique to every project. The challenges and work are always changing. 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 there are multiple job opportunities for applied math, technology and science skills within 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.” 'I helped build that...I was part of that project.’ There’s nothing more rewarding than that Founders Larry and Judy Jeffords certainly understand the potential for someone with math and science skills at their 33-year-old company. Their enterprise began in just a 30x30-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 is always eyeing more expansion and training opportunities in the pursuit of its stated goal: “to be the uncontested leader in the steel fabrication industry.” “We are passionate about helping students become potential employees,” says Larry. “The country has a lot of problems with infrastructure, and math and science students have a career for years to come, really a great living for the rest of one’s life.” We are passionate about helping students become potential employees 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. It isn’t just the software that is industry standard; the fabrication department employs the latest 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 at their disposal—from software to machines to the steel required to accomplish any challenge. Jeffords Steel employees work with contemporary techniques to meet every design and physical challenge in fabricated steel. The company is currently seeking talented math and science students and professionals to fill positions in all of its departments, from design studio to fabrication shop, installation to engineering. Visit the company’s website to learn how “Math + Science = Success” at Jeffords Steel. https://youtu.be/n9TuDMUFJJc