Ben (left) and Matthew (right) Zuvich.
Zoom fatigue from online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic initially piqued Ben Zuvich’s interest in aviation maintenance technician school. Less than five years later, both he and his younger brother, Matthew, are now enjoying promising careers in the MRO industry.
As Ben was finishing up his senior year of high school in Hagerstown, Maryland, he wanted to find a school that was still offering in-person classes. One of his friends was attending Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA), and he told Ben he already had a job offer with a good salary midway through the program. “I thought about it, went and applied, and then everything kind of fell right into place for me,” says Ben.
During his PIA orientation in 2021, a Piedmont Airlines representative told Ben and his classmates about the carrier’s tuition payment program, which covers tuition costs for selected students and guarantees them aviation maintenance technician jobs at one of its bases upon graduation from the 16-month program. He applied right away and was accepted.
Ben started working night shift at Piedmont’s Middletown, Pennsylvania, base in February 2023. “You go from doing the basics to changing some components, learning some systems, and then you can get into some big jobs—doing engines, landing gear and different repairs,” says Ben.
Around that time, Matthew was finishing high school. “I didn’t think I wanted to go the college route because, financially, it would just put you in debt right away,” he says. He applied for Piedmont’s tuition payment program before starting at PIA, and “it just fell into my hands to have the ability to go to PIA for free and then have a job right after school.”
Ben helped Matthew as he progressed through the program and prepared to test for his final examinations. After graduation, Matthew also got a job at Piedmont’s Middletown base.
The brothers supported each other during their time working together at Piedmont. “It was the biggest move that both of us have ever made in our lives, because we lived in the same house for our whole life, so moving just an hour away was kind of big,” says Ben. “The whole thing definitely made us closer. It was cool to watch Matthew come to work and watch him grow, learn and start talking differently.”
Ben eventually moved on to a job as an AOG technician with DCJet Services at Washington Dulles International Airport, where he performs maintenance work on executive jets. He enjoys the work because he works on a wide variety of aircraft.
While the brothers no longer work at the same company, they keep in touch—particularly since they typically work the same schedule.
Matt plans to stay with Piedmont for the foreseeable future. Unlike his brother, he prefers to work on larger aircraft.
Both brothers encourage other young people with an interest in aviation maintenance to make the leap. “Do it. Check it all out. Weigh out all your options,” says Ben. “Nothing hurts, so make a phone call, knock on a door, and show up and find out as much as you can.”
Matt notes that PIA offers open houses, so “if you want to get a hands-on experience of what students do day-to-day, that’s the best way. I definitely think that helped me make the choice.”
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