Originally Posted by TenGrainBread

I don't really understand this program.

From a jobs perspective it makes no sense. There are almost no frames being fabricated in the US. The companies producing a small number of carbon frames here, like Trek and Allied, don't need workers trained in bicycle design and fabrication. They hire technicians and train them to work with their molds and lay-up techniques. The engineers and machinists handle the design and tooling, and these are trained engineers and machinists, not kids with a 2 year bicycle science associates degree.

The other people producing frames are custom framebuilders. A small handful of tiny companies with a few employees (Seven, Moots, Indy Fab, Firefly, etc...). The rest are one or two man shops that have no ambitions to grow. Not much in the way of jobs coming from either of those.

Is the aim of the program for the majority of graduates to start their own business? Most custom frame shops struggle to survive. There is simply not enough of a market for made-in-the-US, high end frames to sustain a workforce larger than what already exists.

The college rep is quoted in the article saying the degree will allow students to be hired into non-bike-related fields. Sounds like a fantasy to me. Employers look for candidates with relevant experience. If I were deciding between a candidate trained in machining and a candidate trained in using a mill to miter bike frame tubes, I would choose the machinist.