pjcorbett

When Greenville’s Robert Bosch Tools plant closed in 2007, P.J. Corbett says he was not only unemployed, he had no particular skillset to fall back on in order to distinguish himself from the hundreds of others who would soon be flooding the job market.

A 1994 graduate of D.H. Conley High School, Corbett made the decision to continue working at Bosch after receiving his diploma rather than pursuing a college education.

“I made the common mistake of thinking, ‘Why go to college when I already have a good job?’” he says, adding that it wasn’t until Bosch closed 13 years later that finally he had a definitive answer.

“The knowledge and insight that I gained while attending PCC have allowed me to achieve ASE Master Technician certification less than two years into my career.”

Corbett says Pitt Community College offered the training and skills he needed for a new career. And just two years after enrolling at the college, he says he was already receiving job offers when he completed an associate degree in Automotive Systems Technology in 2010.

“In no time at all, I was working as a technician at the dealership level and earning higher wages than I ever made during my previous manufacturing experience,” Corbett says. “The knowledge and insight that I gained while attending PCC have allowed me to achieve ASE Master Technician certification less than two years into my career.”

Corbett has been working at Greenville Toyota for more than a year now, after spending a year with another dealership. His wife, Amy, is a graduate of PCC’s radiography program.

Rob Goldberg