Life at MHIRJ: Shannon Kniceley

Gone are the conventional days when you had to choose one career path and stick to it forever. When you have skills and ambition, making a career change can be a great decision at any point in life. Once a plastics engineer, Russell Becker now happily works as a Structures Technician at the MHIRJ service center in Bridgeport, West Virginia.

When you think of an apprentice, who do you picture? Russell likes to joke that it certainly isn’t him, although that’s exactly how he started his career at MHIRJ after many years spent working in plastics. When the opportunity to make a worthwhile shift came his way, he took it. Watch his story on how he went from apprentice, to contractor, to full-time team member in just months:

 

AN OPPORTUNITY THAT HAS WINGS

When life throws us curveballs, the catalyst for change can come out of nowhere. For Russell, it was a conversation with a friend at a football game. After expressing that he had been laid off from his job and looking for new opportunities, his friend asked if he’d ever considered a career in aviation. “I'm like, no. I'm a plastics guy. He goes, well, you know what? Why don't you just give it a shot? We're looking for sheet metal guys. I said, well, I know sheet metal. He goes, well, come on up.” And the rest is history.

After taking the initial tests, Russell scored off the charts and was welcomed to the team. “This was only going to be a pit stop for me, but I don't think I'm ever going to go back to plastics. I like it too much here.” he says.

FAMILY VALUES

Now that he’s been part of the team for two years, Russell can speak on how much he values the camaraderie with his colleagues. He’s been well-supported and mentored in his journey, and loves that his days are spent both learning and laughing, expressing that his team keeps his spirits high. “Working with those three, it's a perk because they're hilarious,” he says, and adds: “It's a lot more family oriented than I anticipated to be. I mean, I thought aviation was just a bunch of former military guys, until I got here. But a lot of the guys here are local. They started here as apprentices and work their way up through it.”

While not working, Russell loves spending quality time with his wife, sons, and daughter in and around beautiful Bridgeport.

Get to know more MHIRJ team members and follow their journeys in WINGPSAN. Looking to make your own leap? Check out our current opportunities: https://mhirj.com/en/careers

Sometimes life takes you in unexpected directions. Just ask Carrington Valentine, Quality Control Inspector at the MHIRJ service center in Bridgeport, West Virginia. When his military career came to an end, he was presented with an opportunity to pursue a career in aviation, and he hasn’t looked back since.
 

The beauty of the aviation industry is that your diverse skills can take you far. For Carrington, his military background, aviation education, and attention to detail have afforded him the opportunity to grow his career with MHIRJ. Pair that with the social life he’s cultivated with his team and the active lifestyle he enjoys outside of work, and he could tell you that he’s truly managed to land that sweet spot between work and play. Watch his story:

 

TURNING CHALLENGES INTO SKILLS

As a Quality Control Inspector, it's essential that Carrington has an eye for detail. But this wasn’t always something that came easily to him. “The biggest obstacle that I've overcome in this industry is learning how to be detail-oriented. I am more of a global thinker. I see the big picture. So, learning and understanding the fine details of aviation maintenance has been my biggest struggle. But because of this career field specifically, I have developed the talent of being detail oriented, and that's how I ended up becoming an inspector,” he says.

Stories like his go to show that even if you think you don’t have everything it takes, anything can be learned and any skill can be sharpened over time, in turn taking your career to unexpected new heights. Carrington now prides himself on his attention to detail when he carries out tasks like the primary inspection where he and his crew spend about two weeks inspecting every single inch of the plane to find anything that needs to be fixed.

PASSING ON WISE ADVICE

When it comes to career advice, Carrington takes what he’s learned and passes it on to those who are following in his footsteps. His military background looked quite different from his current role, but taking on sound advice helped him achieve the work ethic he has now. “I would say probably the best advice I received in my career is to take your time and enjoy yourself. This is a very high stress career field where everything you do matters. And if you're not careful, you can let that overwhelm you. So the best thing that I've learned is just to take your time, relax, and enjoy yourself,” he says. And his best advice for those coming in? “Enjoy the journey. Because this career field, is a journey. A lot of times you're going to start off as an apprentice before you get your license.”

And enjoying the journey is exactly what he’s done. On working at MHIRJ he says “It's a very fun and laid-back environment. One of my favorite things about working here is that is that the people here are really friendly, and if you ask them a question, they'll stop what they're doing to help you."

Meet more MHIRJ team members and hear their stories in WINGPSAN, and take a look at current opportunities to join them: https://mhirj.com/en/careers

As an Operations Supervisor at the MHIRJ service center in Bridgeport, West Virginia, Christopher Lawrence’s workdays are spent ensuring the quality of his team’s work and the safety of the aircraft they’re working on. But on his off days, he’s all about living his best life with his family and friends in the place he calls home.

For almost seven years, Christopher has climbed the ranks at MHIRJ thanks to his hard work, dedication, and the support of his peers—who he also counts among his friends. And with a flexible schedule that allows for plenty of time to do the things he loves most; he’s achieved a balanced lifestyle that has room for both career growth and quality time.

 

THE PATH TO SUCCESS

Much like many others who work at MHIRJ, Christopher didn’t have a background in aviation. However, this didn’t stop him from pursuing a new career path. “I was a coal miner for six years, and as we know, a lot of the coal mines were starting to shut down and I needed to make a change and find a job because I just had my son and just got married and I didn't want to be without a job,” he said. This is what led him to attend the National Aviation Academy in Clearwater, Florida to complete the 14-month fast-track program. “I fell in love with it. I've always liked to work with my hands, so it was a great fit.”

With his AMP license in hand, he applied to work at MHIRJ where he began as a technician on the floor. His skills, work ethic, and unwavering efforts helped promote him to become an Operations Supervisor. “If you look at my story, nothing's really held me back,” he says. “There's definitely a lot of opportunity for growth. I mean, if you look at where I came from as a tech on the floor and only six years later, I'm in an Operations Supervisor position, you can grow, and you can grow fast.”

ADVICE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

We asked Christopher what the best advice he’d ever received in his career was, and he said “don’t stop learning, because your AMP is a license to learn and you will constantly learn new things every day around this facility. If you have a good work ethic and a willingness to learn, it will carry you further in this industry than anything else.” He also credits his peers who helped show him the ropes, answer his questions, and support him in his journey.

Stay tuned to WINGSPAN to hear more stories about life at MHIRJ, and explore our open positions if you’re ready make your next career move: https://mhirj.com/en/careers