Aaron Goodwin had only completed one year of Manufacturing classes at Shoreline Community College when he was offered a job working a machinist at a local company. He was pleased to be hired in the industry so quickly and stopped taking classes to focus on working full time. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and he was unexpectedly laid off.
Instead of feeling defeated about losing his job, Goodwin remained optimistic and quickly knew what he wanted to do next: return to Shoreline.
“I had already finished my first year at Shoreline, so I decided to finish my second year of classes,” Goodwin said. “Shoreline is currently the only school offering the second year of the AA degree in Machinist Technology,” he added.
He re-enrolled at Shoreline and qualified for special worker retraining funding due to his unemployment status. Goodwin is now on track to graduate this summer with an Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences in Manufacturing/Machinist Technology.
“Everyone in the program at Shoreline — from the instructor, to the director, the shop manager, and the teaching assistant — is awesome at what they do!,” Goodwin said. “Also, I couldn’t have done it without my guidance counselor Wanda Waldrop. Because of her motivation and knowledge of this program, I will be graduating with an AA!,” he added.
Goodwin’s enthusiasm is fueled by his belief that he is learning skills that will continue to be in demand. “Mechatronics is the future of manufacturing and learning about it puts you and your understanding of robotics in high demand,” he said.
What’s next for Goodwin after graduation? He is looking forward to finding another job in the industry and says with a smile, “the sky is the limit!”
As the post-COVID economy begins to pick up, many small and large manufacturing firms in the Puget Sound – including plastics, molding, general manufacturing, as well as aerospace – have started to rehire machining technicians and operators.
Shoreline Community College offers evening and weekend training in as little as 10 weeks in basic manufacturing, precision machining, computer-aided manufacturing, machine maintenance, quality assurance, electronics, and robotics.
Summer classes begin June 28 in South Seattle and Shoreline, WA. Learn more about the Manufacturing program at Shoreline.