School to oilfield and back: Marshall native starting new career at TSTC

MARSHALL, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) — Marshall native Lewis Thomas is very blunt when he talks about leaving Texas State Technical College (TSTC).

“I left TSTC because I saw dollar signs in the oilfield; it was booming back then,” Lewis explains. That boom led Lewis and many people to the oilfield, but the boom had costs.

The oilfield is dangerous. Workers are told constantly that every mistake could lead to someone dying. Hazardous chemicals, water, and sand are pumped in a mixture, often at pressures exceeding 10,000 pounds.

Oilfield work and schedules are notoriously difficult. Workers commonly work 14-21 consecutive days. 14-16-hour days are normal, and 20-hour days are not unheard of. Sometimes the work is local, and sometimes it is hundreds of miles away. From West Texas to West Virginia, the oilfield took Lewis many places, and while the money was good, there was a lot of sacrifice.

“I had my first son and almost missed his birth because I was in West Texas. I had my second son, and I missed his first steps. That was a reality check, like, ‘I’m missing key moments in my kids’ lives, I’ve got to get out of here,'” Lewis said.

The decision to get out is easy; actually doing it can be hard. The oilfield pays well, largely due to the massive amount of overtime involved. It can be very difficult to leave without a massive loss of income. This leaves many employers hesitant to hire ex-oilfield workers. They fear investing in a new hire who will leave for a profession that pays more.

It would have been easy for Lewis to let himself become trapped in an industry that he increasingly did not find worth it. Lewis does not like doing things the easy way.

With the support of his wife and sons, Lewis made the decision to return to TSTC, nearly 20 years after he left. It is a decision he does not regret.

“The rewarding part is that, when you make a mistake, the instructor can actually sit there and
break down why you made that mistake and either show you how to correct it or work it in for the next time that you recreate that part,” Lewis said.

Lewis plans to graduate from the Precision Machining Technology program in December and ultimately wants to spend more time with his family than the oilfield allowed him to.

“Professional wise, I want to have a base set for my own business in five years,” Lewis said.
“I’m really big into gunsmithing, so I want to be able to make barrels later on as a retirement job;
I’m not looking to sit there and get rich off of it, it’s just something I like to do.”

His oldest son has expressed interest in studying Precision Machining Technology or Robotics and Industrial Controls at TSTC in the future, something Lewis would be ok with.

“TSTC as a whole is a starting point for someone’s career,” Thomas said. “If you’re actually serious about starting something, it’s a good foothold.”

Registration is currently underway for TSTC’s fall semester.