Coastal Carolina Community College

Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology  

The Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology program at Coastal Carolina Community College prepares students to apply the specialized knowledge and technical skills to troubleshoot, repair, and maintain diesel engines found in heavy duty trucks above the one ton classification, as well as buses, marine craft, railroad locomotives, heavy equipment, and stationary power generators.

Students learn diesel theory in the classroom while they gain valuable hands-on experience inspecting, testing, and servicing diesel engines, electronic engines, medium and heavy duty brake systems, medium and heavy duty hydraulic systems, electrical systems, power trains, suspension and steering systems, and transport climate control systems. Students are also taught proper preventive maintenance for medium and heavy equipment vehicles as well as the basic welding processes used in diesel equipment service and repair.

Using technical manuals, hand tools, digital diagnostic machines, and specialized instruments, students gain hands-on experience in performing diesel engine rebuilds and tune-ups, as they disassemble, diagnose, repair, and reassemble various diesel engines and their auxiliary system components. 

Students will also develop important communication and leadership skills as well as analytical, technical, and mechanical skills with every task they are assigned to complete, both independently, and in teams. Ethics, shop safety, a positive attitude, and effectual time management for the workplace are also stressed.

Since the Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology Diploma and the four Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology Undergraduate Certificates offered at Coastal Carolina Community College are designated as limited enrollment programs, certain deadlines may pertain to each program. See an academic counselor for more information.

From Education to Occupation 

As the diesel industry continues to grow rapidly, job opportunities for qualified diesel mechanics is expected to increase 11% by the year 2020, as fast as average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean annual wage for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists working in the United States in 2014 was $45,160, while the mean salary for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists employed in the state of North Carolina was $42,510 yearly and $20.44 hourly, just 5% lower than the national average.

Graduates of the Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology program at Coastal Carolina Community College will be equipped with the skills, education, and training necessary to gain entry-level employment as qualified diesel mechanics able to properly service and repair the diesel engines found in today’s heavy duty trucks, buses, ships, railroad locomotives, heavy equipment, and stationary power generators. Occupational opportunities include working in commercial trucking companies, shipyards, rail yards, bus lines, construction companies, diesel-power generated factories, and independent repair shops.

The Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology Diploma and Undergraduate Certificate

Coastal Carolina Community College offers a one-year Diesel Technology Diploma as well as a one-year Undergraduate Certificate in Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology. Coastal Carolina Community College also offers three different 4-month Undergraduate Certificates in various areas of Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technology including, Medium/Heavy Duty Power Train, Medium/Heavy Duty Drive Train, and Heavy Duty Truck Systems. The one-year Diesel Technology Diploma program and the one-year Undergraduate Certificate program are both Pell Grant eligible.