aircraft maintenance technician

aircraft mechanic

technician

avionics technician

lead maintenance

WEST STAR AVIATION

The positive aspects first:
~The pay is good for the area.
~Health benefits are pretty good.
~The offer incentives to work out which lowers insurance premiums.
~Despite management, employees get along very well, good team work.

The not so great aspects of West Star:
~Management, for the most part, is uneducated and lacks training of any kind. 
~Fear and intimidation is the norm at this company.
~Morale is at the bottom and management just doesn't care.
~Management attitude is that if you don't like something, then quit.
~Management does not care if you have an idea to improve things, they do not care what you think about anything nor will you ever be asked what you think.
~Supervisors, lower end managers and even the overlords are untouchable. Nothing they do wrong is looked at EVER. 
~Overtime can be on the extreme side at times and they will flat say to you if you object, "Do you want a job or a life?".
~You are treated like a 5 yr old.
~No cell phones on the property.
~You are written up for the most minor of infractions.
~Turnover rate is enormous.
~If you have a problem with a supervisor, there is no one to go to.
~If you openly complain about a supervisor, you'll be run out of the company.
~Not all supervisors are like this, some are kind and fair and actually have some ethical values but for the most part, what I have described is the norm for West Star.

Been here a long time so know what I’m talking about but only speaking for acft maintenance and rest of production (maint, paint, avionics, interior, etc) not sure on admin and support departments side of things. (Overhead jobs) This is one of those companies that will typically reward you for hard work and knowledge so the more effort you put in and quicker you learn the  better raise you will get which is the way it should be. With that said the pay at Grand Junction location on average is lower compared to other MRO’s and even lower than the other WS locations even though cost of living is way higher. The bonus program is a complete joke and laughable, not even sure why they have it.  Hours and overtime can be quite demanding at times but a lot of that depends on each program manager. Some are way better than others at scheduling and being able to say no when upper/senior management wants to load up the schedule. Work atmosphere overall is good but again depends on which department you’re in, some are better than others. OJT is good and you can gain a lot of experience quickly but its always busy here, schedules need to be made so sr. Techs/leads don’t have the time to coddle and hold your hand on everything. Can move up quickly if you have what it takes. Overall great place to work but pay needs to be higher for Grand Junction, it’s expensive here. 

If management (CEO and below) would take an honest look at those that work at the most entry level positions and what it takes to get the job done, they might have a different perspective. The rose colored glasses need to come off and reality needs to sink in. What is a day in the life of the custodians or building maintenance? What is it like when you have a customer breathing down your neck and telling you that they can do your job better than you can? Compensation for the kind of stress mentally, physically and emotionally is extremely lacking. The possibility of a 2.5% increase on your next review is not much incentive to do the best you can. Hard to take pride in your work when the people around you make you feel invaluable. Step away from your ivory tower and pick up a wrench for just a moment. 

WSA starts out seeming like a great place to work....then you are overcome by the negative culture and a true understanding of how they work.  No one is happy with their job, a lot of people have been there for a very long time but it comes at a great cost, you lose a lot of your joy being at WSA.  The employee is nothing, they have a pretty good safety culture but if you need any accommodation for any reason it takes months to get your request "considered" and it will most likely be denied.  They are EXTREMELY stuck in their ways and NOT open to anything new or innovative.  Their sales team is composed of self serving, backstabbing, manipulative, demanding individuals who will screw over whoever they need to, to get ahead or make a sale. They do have a good product and sure make airplanes pretty, but aside from that, WSA can't hold onto good people because of their inability to allow for change and growth.

(Pant shop) You’ll start out bright eyed and innocent. Nothing makes sense, and no one will teach you. Sink or swim. If you don’t demand to be taught, you won’t be, and they’ll blame you for failing. But if you reach higher tech levels, it will get harder. You’ll now be expected to be perfect constantly. If you’re not, they act like the world is ending. How dare things go wrong sometimes. On top of that, there’s no cool air in the summer, so expect to work in sometimes 100 degree heat for 8-12 hours. Your body will hurt continuously, but no one cares because everyone is in pain. Your joints won’t survive working here. The gossip and bullying is horrible. If you make it past two years you’ll feel your soul slowly leaving your body from the stress and constant tearing down of your psyche. 

This company was a great one for me to learn valuable tasks and I really enjoyed many parts of the job. Aside from some of the harder jobs, this was a great way to provide a decent income for my family as an apprentice mechanic. The main reason for my leaving was a toxic community that fosters a walking HR complaint on a daily basis, and considers this conduct appropriate and acceptable in every hangar except the hr office itself. On top of that, the management in my department does not know the first thing about leadership and how to properly motivate a group. The numbers don't lie... over 6 people left in my department alone within 7 months. No other department in the company had such a large turnover rate. The pay is arguably terrible compared to other jobs of similar difficulty, but I was fine with the pay considering my experience level.

The company has and continues to outpace its capabilities. When I say this I really mean it's workers are not experienced enough and very young, being promoted into roles they don't know how to handle. 

This ontop of the fact it's a revolving door and the company is under bidding work to get it all in hopes to put the others out of business.

I don't know, for me it's just temporary but this place has a safety last mentality. No time for training or pulling up Manuals, just get it done. Don't be caught standing still. Run Laps around the plane if you have to appear busy.

It was just last week a kid almost died, ended up in the ER. It's too frantic here and it will cost. 

In short it's a rip and tear operation. No professionalism. No time to do it right. It's going to leave you standing in the shower wondering what you forgot. 

QA? WHAT QA! 

Bottom line is this.... If you're local and need a job OK.... If you are thinking about relocating here it's really risky.

Days are busy, learn a lot because you have to because project managers are fairly incompetent.  Project managers seem to think their job is having a bunch of meetings, which makes most of us laugh because they have no idea what is going on.  The hardest part of the job is having to stomach doing other peoples jobs and management not seeming to take notice on who or what is being accomplished.  The work itself is enjoyable.

It's funny, I used to say this is the best place I've worked.  But here recently, no substantial raise or even acknowledgement after training all new employees and keeping the wheels on in department.  Some other more specific thing relating to handing out things to newer employees and forgetting the employees who have been here for some time.

Absolutely a horrible company to associated with. Aircraft leads that don't have an A&P mechanics license managing the aircraft. Project managers acting as maintenance managers with no clear sense of direction. Long periods of no work unless you are part of the good ole boys club. Very unwelcoming place to work if you are not local, which generally always means white. Shop are managed as though they are an extension or carry on of the previous occupants of the airport; what that means is that if you previously worked in the facility but when it existed under a different business name, there exists a certain seniority. Long history of layoffs at this facility.  

When I arrived I was shocked at how well everyone got along and how they welcomed me, a contractor.  I had to talk the boss into letting me work more hours and more days because he was concerned I would burn myself out.  West Star really cared about you having enough time/days off for a life.  Once they found I really could work 6-7 days a week at 10-12 hrs a day and wanted to they found back shop work to keep me busy when things slowed on the floor.  I cannot say enough good about them and even recommended them to a co-worker in Oklahoma City who took vacation to try them out as a contractor and ended up moving there.  Top notch group of people, hard to explain how friendly they are and I'm from Texas, so I hate to admit anyone has us beat, they do.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Aircraft maintenance technician 64 salaries reported	$39.00 per hour
Aircraft mechanic 57 salaries reported	$34.56 per hour
Technician 24 salaries reported	$26.56 per hour
Avionics technician 19 salaries reported	$35.71 per hour
Lead maintenance 21 salaries reported	$47.14 per hour

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