MELBOURNE, Fla. — Demand for high-tech jobs on the Space Coast is up nearly 40% over the past five years, meaning more opportunities are available for students in STEM-related careers.

Former students are now mentoring current students of a Brevard County high school robotics club, to help guide them into aerospace and engineering fields.

Rylan Struthers, 19, sees his future clearly — he wants to be a NASA engineer who designs and builds robots.

Right now, Struthers is interning and getting experience with state-of-the-art 3D printers. He said he's quickly picked up skills and figured out how to solve problems, learning by trial and error.

“Having that engineering mindset, being able to problem solve, and how things relate to others," he said.

In high school, Struthers earned his stripes as a member of Team #386 Voltage, made up of Melbourne High, Westshore High and home-schooled students.

He, like many of the students in the club, knew nothing about robotics when he started.

Okie Baughman is a retired engineer who has been mentoring the team for 25 years.

"He didn't know anything about wiring, and now he can wire the whole robot himself," Baughman said of Struthers. "It put him on the path where he wants to go."

Now the mentee is the mentor — Struthers works with students to help them learn, just like he did.

"Seeing the look in their eyes that I had when I was in their shoes, it's just so rewarding because seeing that effect I have on them, they had on me, it's a good feeling," Struthers said.

​Team #386 Voltage is competing in the Orlando Regional at the University of Central Florida in April, followed by the Tallahassee Regional, along with teams from around the world.​