Making PIA Skills Work
What’s great about the training I got at PIA is that I can take my skills and knowledge anywhere and work on any kind of engine.
Justin Chabek
Youngstown Campus, OH
Programs:
Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT)
Employment:
GE Aviation, Assembly Mechanic
Justin Chabek spent three years in the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry, where he completed jumps out of C130s, C17s, and Black Hawk helicopters. As a civilian, he became interested in an aviation career. Since PIA is a VA benefit approved school, Chabek was able to use his G.I. Bill to help pay for tuition.
Before graduating from PIA, Chabek had two job offers and accepted a position with CommutAir. Today he works for GE Aviation as an assembly mechanic on marine industrial turbine engines, where he builds brand new low-pressure turbines (LPTs).
“What’s great about the training I got at PIA is that I can take my skills and knowledge anywhere and work on any kind of engine,” says Chabek. “So far, I’ve worked on regular overnight aircraft maintenance, I took a temporary (non-aviation) job working on industrial pumps, and then I moved to private jets, where I got to do complete overhauls on Beechcrafts. Every new job I’ve taken was a step in the right direction. The pay keeps getting better, and I’ve learned a lot.”