an associate degree in electronics technology at Rogue Community College.
Peter Goodwill was piecing together odd jobs and barely scraping by when he decided to pursue a career in electronics. Rogue Community College helped him find his path.
“I knew that I wanted to get into electronics before I came to RCC and, as I went through the program, it just strengthened my desire to get into that field,” said Goodwill, who earned an Electronics Technology Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in 2016.
Goodwill’s decision to go to college has paid off.
I was just finding whatever work I could. I wasn’t even making minimum wage for the most part. I am most definitely in a much better position than I ever was before.
– Peter Goodwill
“My career before I went to RCC was primarily self-employed and just finding whatever work I could. I wasn’t even making minimum wage for the most part,” he said. “I am most definitely in a much better position than I ever was before.”
As the capstone to his electronics degree, Goodwill completed a Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) internship at Linx Technologies, a wireless components company in Merlin. Linx hired him on full-time as a validation technician, where he tests new products as well as existing products that have had changes to their design.
“Some days I’ll be working on code for test equipment automation, other days I’ll be soldering together boards to create new test rigs,” Goodwill said. “If you like working with high-tech stuff, this is definitely a great place to work.”
Goodwill said he felt well-prepared for work thanks to his training at RCC. “One of the things that attracted me to the electronics program at RCC was the emphasis on hands-on learning and practical knowledge,” he said. “I feel that everything that I learned at RCC had some sort of application at my work.”
Goodwill was impressed by the high-quality professional equipment he was able to access in the RCC Electronics Technology program. “They have a lot of equipment that you wouldn’t expect to find on a smaller college campus.”
He also appreciated RCC’s small class sizes, affordable tuition and knowledgeable, caring instructors who helped him find his path.
“Every teacher that I met with at RCC, every class that I was in, they had a passion for what they were teaching and that really came through in their willingness to help students,” he said. “The teachers in the electronics department were willing to help me figure out where I was going and what classes I needed to take in order to get my degree finished up.”
He’s happy to recommend the RCC to others. “The program at RCC allowed me to be where I am now and have a financial future.”