Tom Carlos was born and raised in San Jose, California. He is the son of migrant farm workers who settled in the Santa Clara valley, an agricultural region which would later become known as the Silicon Valley. As a teenager, he would sort and pick fruit at local orchards during school breaks. At the age of 18, Tom joined the U.S. Navy Seabees, and was honorably discharged after 6 years of service. After his active duty service, he enrolled in the O.I.C. (Opportunities Industrialization Center) program and was formally trained as an electro-mechanical draftsman. Tom started working and at the same time, attended evening classes for the first 10 years of his career. After almost 40 years of employment, he has provided manufacturing and engineering services to various high technology companies throughout the Silicon Valley, and continues to do so. Tom currently resides in San Jose, is married, and is the father of three adult children.
