aircraft mechanic

sheet metal mechanic

mechanic

aircraft maintenance technician

quality control inspector

Aviation Technical Services

ATS was my longest term job and was by far the job I've learned the most from. Although this company is HUGE, and offers a multitude of different jobs with certain skillsets, from welding and metal working, to parts ordering and logistic computer jobs. My experience was in the Structure Bond department and I had work usually in our shop and occasionally on the hanger floor.

 Working in the shop area was where I had to learn how to perform repairs, but by the computers is a table that I learned how to do paper work (which everyone on the hangar floor has to do and can be EXTREMELY challenging if you do not have the best writing skills or penmanship). Paper work was the most tedious part of my job there, not because I didn't have the best handwriting, but because they require a VERY specific format for your paperwork to get a pass from your Quality Control manager, which there is usually a different QC each shift/day of the week. So, depending on the day your QC could let spelling mistakes fly, or the opposite when the decide to reject your work for very insignificant errors. 

Learning repairs are usually easy to pick up of you are mechanically inclined, or if you have a good idea at grasping concepts taught to you by the more experienced workers in your area. In my case, all of the people that had already been working there for over 5 years really knew what they were doing, and were usually respectful and patient with newer co-workers. You will have to learn how to sand with a DA hand sander, and that means having to work in the overly hot sanding room they provide. 

That also means you will have to be wearing one of their masks they provide, and I've spent countless hours in those masks and let me tell you it was my least/most favorite part of working there. I hated it because it was so hot and if you don't want your clothes covered in fiberglass dust, then you have to wear a suit that will be making you sweat even more. I didn't care so I barely wore one, I only did when I had to. But otherwise I would listen to music and just zone out in there while sanding huge floor boards.

You will need a basic set of tools that will provide a list for (different depending on your shop) and honestly if you don't already have some of the higher end tools they require, then you will either need to spend some money or be the new person who always asks to borrow your tools (which you do NOT want to be that person, especially if you forget to return it). And a solid tool box will be required as well, that will be where you start your shift after getting your worksheets for the day.
 
The pay grade was nice, in my previous jobs it was significantly more by the time I left so I have no room to complain. The benefits were great, from dental to life insurance is provided. And if you get hurt on the job, someone will escort you to a medic care provider right across the street (if you're working in Hangar 1).

I enjoyed my time at ATS, mostly because of the pay and their work environment. Unfortunately I hated getting up at 4:30 every morning and having to sand for 8-10 hours, but if you don't mind their shifts then this place will treat you as good as you treat it.

I have been in this business 30 years, was with ATS over 5.5 years  . I have never quit a job in my life nor fired and have made a ton of friends all over the world in this business . However during my recent per diem break there is an employee who did not like my entire shift , told HR that I was actually not on per diem break but had QUIT without telling them . Now I have no job and will be homeless shortly in Seattle with my wife and teenage daughter because of this person . I am NOT the only one he has done this to.  I am shocked that HR sided with this person sight unseen, he is not management . No one has called or emailed except for the people he told that he did this - I didn't even know I had been "blacklisted " until co workers texted me asking if I knew ???  This is not high school last I looked  . He is very good friends with the weekday lead who called all of us on the weekend shift the "Misfits" which I do not appreciate . I am extremely skilled, far moreso than this insecure individual is  . The issue with the "Misfit shift " was that we were ALL from various countries . I am from Europe - most of us are worldwide on that shift  . We are all legal and there for a reason and all of my  co workers on that shift  were full of talent and this one man has run several off . I am leaving the PNW,  not to come back , My lead and my co workers on the "Misfit shift"  were great . Really the best . 

 Pay does not cover col in area .

 In response to another review the reason some of us older contractors make more $$ than the direct A&P's is because we get no benefits and usually have to move around the country a lot and  you are MUCH younger and learned nothing in whatever A&P school you went to and the "Misfits" had to redo most of your work over the weekend that we could never get off. Not ever  We even retrained some of you . We all requested to be switched to the weekday shift at certain times to weekdays so we could have some kind of life but no it was always no . We are out of here and I will probably leave aviation after this experience .

They pay less than half of what The aviation company (Right across the street) Does. In fact the higher paid employees are paid ten dollars less an hour than three of the other Aviation companies in town. They pass up others for advancement that are far more deserving but give a less qualified person with far less experience the position. They have lost numerous customers due to how things are done by management. They hire people who come to work smelling of alcohol. Allow management to skip work, leave early, or pass the job over so they don't have to work.  Over look major issues and quality control. Allow some to skip FAA procedures to save time and cost. Low support for employee's families. If you have a family do not work here. They could care less about helping. The company party's are not good and cheaply thrown together. They have no long term company plan like most Aviation companies do and employees are constantly having to be temporarily shipped out to other long distant locations, and are put up in the cheapest hotels yes the kind you find unclean or bugs found and the Per-Diem is not even enough to get two meals a day low teens let alone three.  If you have a friend or family member who wants to work there it is best you do it when you are brand new here because if you have been there for years they will be passed up for someone else's who is a new hire there no matter what experience they have.  They do not leave the hiring to local management. Instead they let corporate do the hiring and they have no clue what is a better fit for the local branches nor do they care. Most of the employees are lazy and walk around on their phones or with hands in pockets or even spend twenty minuets in the bathroom  for every two or three hours they work. They have dropped planes and passed it off as accidents when it was clearly not one but lie about it to customers so they wont loose the business.  Contractors have up and left many times because of what happens here!

Save yourself the hassle and just work for Boeing instead. This place is a zoo. Wanna work at an adult high school? This place is it. One person can ruin your job and HR fires people unfairly. You get no warnings. One person can make lies about you and HR will believe them and you’re screwed. Don’t make any friends here and don’t trust anyone. Everyone stabs each other in the backs to get a little higher on the ladder. Not like it matters, this place pays you nothing. I can work at Burger King and get more money. This place is always buying other companies and hiring VPS and making up non existent positions but the employees that actually do the work and drive the company don’t see a dime. Last year we got $50 for Xmas. That was from our taxes though. Very cheap company. The CEO walks around like everything is just swell but everyone is upset they get treated like dirt. The logistics department is a JOKE. Young kids running around telling on each other and playing high school games. No one knows what they’re doing. There’s fire all around them but they walk around with their eyes closed like nothing is wrong. There’s problems everywhere but no one wants to do anything. They moment they get a good employee, they drive them away with how much of a zoo the whole department is. The managers and supervisors talk down to their employees and call them names. New hire mechanics walk around doing nothing while the elder ones break their backs everyday. The leads don’t split the work evenly between the crew. So you have one angry mechanic doing all the work while the other ones are on their phone doing jack all. Pay rises are a joke. 21 cents a year IF you’re lucky. You can’t live off these wages. This place is a nightmare and while how many regulations and FAA codes are broken, I’m really shocked this place hasn’t been shut down. No communication between anyone. There’s no pros about working here. You’ll get depression and anxiety No problem though.

Don't even consider working here unless you're into kissing butt to advance and chances are you still won't benefit from it due to their out right lying or broken promises to you anyway.

It would have been nice to have someone warn me about ATS before I applied so be advised....
I hired in as a contractor and decided enough was enough a little while after completing my first and only year there. Just glad I didn't make the mistake of hiring on as a direct hire.
A lot of good old favoritism networkings. For that, I could have just stayed at my previous place of employment.
You show up for work and if there isn't anything available for that shift, they send you home (of course without pay).
The pay rate is by far one of the worst in the industry.
Mostly what the other reviews are saying about middle and upper echelons of management are true...they're just not there to give a rat's hindquarters about the details unless you screwed something up. Then, you won't ever hear the end of it!
And if you need a pat on the back...forget about it (even if you did complete a task successfully)!

Mistakes are going to happen....just do not try to hide your mistakes otherwise it's a guaranteed trip to the local unemployment center once it's discovered that you tried to hide something!

I could go on but overall, there are plenty of other places to work in this region whether or not you want to stay in the aviation industry.

Great area to work, good climate, team work in operations as a mechanic is growing. I like the cafeteria set-up. I enjoy the size of the company about 700 including overhead. Company is close to all ammenities. Parking is readily available. They have many shifts and work schedules. They provided unifroms for the mechanics. Tools are readily available to the mechanic. Overhead is a tough enviornment, we lay-off every 3 years, due to cost constraints, Middle management is really bullish and uneducated, it's difficult to thrive when you are intelligent. They deparments are really siloed and communications is seriously amiss. I feel like I am wasting my life away at this stage of my career at ATS, that's why I choose to seek different employement.

Worked as an Avionics Technician here for a couple of years. Mainly we worked on planes that were brought in to transition to company standards. The avionics shop changed a lot in the time that I was there to include management changes that weren't beneficial to lower level employees in terms of work hours, morale, or opportunity for advancement. Generally if you show that you are competent, you will have no problem at ATS. Additionally if you show that you are the best at installing certain systems, that is all that you will be doing until the end of time. Contractors make a lot more than direct employees, as to be expected. But don't expect to make decent money if you want a direct position.

Aviation Technical Services (ATS) made a concerted effort to create a positive and supportive work environment that valued the employees. The people in the corporate offices in Everett were treated very well. Executives always treated everyone with respect in meetings, and there was a real effort to understand issues and root causes before coming to conclusions. I didn't see any "shoot the messenger" antics. For people working down on the shop floor (most employees), whether you lied the job or not was mostly driven by your immediate supervisor. Most were good, some weren't. Overall I observed that most people tended to feel a real affinity for their workmates and had a sense of family with their team. 

Co workers in immediate area are great.

Too much in upper management, most of the time we get along fine without 75% of them. The division I work at had no director for about 5 months and didnt crash and burn.
No true pay increases, they cant decide on what kind of pay increase program they would like.

Talking with the longer serving mechanics, seems like benefits such as holiday and PTO have been cut back by a significant amount and no signs of them changing that any time soon.

They give you "64" hours of holiday time but you can only really count that as 48 hours since they will just auto take that from you on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Perfect for learning aviation, getting experience and moving on.

I loved working at ATS. They were extremely laid back and understanding of the fact that I was fresh out of A&P school. I learned so much in the time I was there from the veteran mechanics who were willing to take anybody willing to learn in and be a mentor to them. I could have stayed there until I retired but I ended up having a child while working there and wanted to relocate to be closer to family. I took a job with Spirit Airlines in Chicago that paid as much at entry level as the 20 year master mechanics at ATS were making. And on the flip side, the contractors at ATS made significantly more. Don't get me wrong, It was a decent starting wage. If your spouse also has a decent paying job or if you are a bachelor with no kids who is careful with your money, you would have no problem getting by on the wages at ATS.

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