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Discovery Tech
Discovery Tech is a training school built around one idea: students learn best by doing real work, not busy work. Founded by Jeff Burkinshaw, a protection and control professional with 25 years in the power industry, the school was created to make specialized technical education faster, more affordable, and accessible from anywhere.
Instead of requiring students to relocate and attend a traditional campus, Discovery Tech combines remote, hands-on learning with paid field experience through its industry partners. Coursework is project-based, so students build and test real equipment from their own workbench and pick up the theory as they need it. Instructors and mentors bring decades of hands-on experience from the field, giving students guidance rooted in how the work is actually done.
Discovery Tech welcomes career changers, recent high school graduates, and technical workers looking to advance. What matters most is curiosity, work ethic, and a drive to learn.
Available Program
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Power System Technology Diploma
Building & ConstructionDiscovery Tech’s two-year Power System Technology diploma prepares students to work on the protection, control, and communication systems that keep the electrical grid running. The program blends remote, hands-on coursework with paid field training, so students can build real skills without relocating.
Level 1: Online and Hands-On
Students set up a home workbench that serves as their own small electrical lab. Guided by a mentor, they complete 17 progressive projects covering electrical measurement, AC and DC circuits, transformers, three-phase power, microcontrollers, radio communications, and utility power systems. Along the way, students build their own generator and test equipment, then finish with a capstone project: designing a small-scale utility power system. Full-time students typically complete this level in 6 to 8 months, while part-time students finish in about 12 months.
Level 2: Paid On-the-Job Training
Students join an industry partner as a paid Student Tech, working alongside experienced technologists on real projects across the US and Canada, with travel covered by the employer. Training areas include:
- Protection system testing, maintenance, and commissioning
- Relay testing and current transformer injection
- Fiber optic splicing and communication channel testing
- Maintenance of radio, microwave, and power line carrier systems
- Safety assessment, test documentation, and drawing markups
Graduates are prepared for careers in substations, generating stations, industrial plants, and utility communication sites.