Falkner High School juniors and seniors got a look on Thursday, Nov. 12, at how technology and artificial intelligence are changing utility careers. Two visitors from Central Service Association (CSA) in Tupelo, Richard Adams and Josh Allen, talked with students about the jobs behind the electric, water and gas systems that keep communities running, Falkner High School said in a Friday post.
Utility Careers Meet Artificial Intelligence
Adams and Allen talked about the growing role of technology and AI in the utility industry. They covered new tools and the ways automation is reshaping the workplace. The school said they also showed students how those changes are opening new career paths in an industry most people don’t think about until the lights go out.
CSA is a familiar name in the region’s utility world. Five public utilities formed the Tupelo-based organization in 1937, according to its website. Today it provides shared business services to utilities, including customer information and billing software, meter data management, GIS mapping, financial software and consulting. That puts its staff in a good position to explain how data and software now shape everyday utility work.
Which Career Fits You?
The session ended with a hands-on activity. Students took a quick check called “Which One Sounds Like You?” that sorted them into four personality types:
The Builder
The Keeper
The Fixer
The Architect
Each type pointed to a different set of utility careers, along with the education, training and steps needed to get there. The school called it a fun way to help students connect their own interests and strengths to real jobs.
Part of Falkner’s EPIC Career Push
The visit is part of Falkner High’s ongoing career-planning work, which the school sums up as “Explore. Plan. Investigate. Connect.” Earlier this month, Falkner sixth graders visited Northeast Mississippi Community College for a mini NEnow day. Area schools have also welcomed state troopers and local utility workers for career and safety visits this fall.
The school thanked Adams and Allen for sharing their knowledge with the Falkner Eagles and helping students see how today’s interests can become tomorrow’s careers.
For Tippah County families, the visit is a reminder that well-paying technical jobs in utilities, from line work and metering to software and data analysis, are based right here in north Mississippi.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
