SECOND SHIFT · WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Week of Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2026. Three stories, three people.
Louis Maxcy, Umatilla, Ore.: from two associate degrees to a data center job in his hometown. Maxcy, 30, set out to study computer science and earned two associate degrees before switching to a scholarship-funded data center technician program at Blue Mountain Community College, which partners with Amazon Web Services. He started in September 2025. AWS hired him in the spring while he was still training, and in June he finished with a certificate and a job. He now monitors, troubleshoots and repairs servers at an AWS data center less than 10 minutes from home. "In a lot of ways, I feel like I've made it," he said.
Original reporting by Jackie Valley, The Hechinger Report, Nov. 3, 2026. Read the story →
DeCarlo Smith, Dayton, Ohio: from four trips to prison to a career at a family-owned factory. Smith told WYSO he has been to prison four times, describing gang involvement, drug selling and violent offenses. Frank Hagan, who describes their relationship as going beyond supervisor and employee, has watched Smith build a career over the past seven years at FC Industries, a family-owned manufacturer in Dayton. Hagan says Smith's past has never been an issue at work. WYSO's piece does not give Smith's job title. Smith says he still pushes harder because of his record. "It's just something in me that makes me feel I have to work twice as hard to keep the position I have," he said.
Original reporting by Heidi Arnold and Courtney Alspaugh, WYSO (ReEntry Stories), Nov. 3, 2026. Read the story →
Becca Major, Alamo Heights, Texas: from a student-run coffee truck to a paycheck at H-E-B. Major, 28, is a student at SA Life Academy, a day program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities housed at a church in Alamo Heights, where students run the Rising Stars coffee truck and pop-up markets. She recently got a restocking job at H-E-B; the San Antonio Report does not say which store. She is one of three students who have found jobs after the academy's career track, though co-executive director Samantah Kidwell said the academy doesn't yet do job coaching or employment. "I also like to make my own money, too, and I feel honored that I get to be paid for the hard work I get to do," Major said.
Original reporting by Xochilt Garcia, San Antonio Report, Oct. 31, 2026. Read the story →
The pattern this week
Only one of these jobs came through a program built with a specific employer: AWS hired Maxcy mid-training under a college partnership. Smith's story names no program at all, just a factory that, by Hagan's account, doesn't hold history against people, and Major's academy says it doesn't yet do job coaching. As we see it, the deciding move in all three was an employer's choice to hire, which is worth remembering when places pitch training capacity as the whole workforce story. This is Location Decision's analysis; the facts are as reported by the credited outlets.
Second Shift tells the stories of people building what's next through new skills, new careers and second chances. From the Field items are curated from credited reporting, with Location Decision's perspective. Location Decision Originals are independently reported by our team.
This item was sourced and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed under Location Decision’s editorial standards. Second Shift tracks workforce outcomes to inform our broader editorial analysis. All reporting belongs to the credited journalists; read the original story for the full account.