Madalyn Davis Found Her Dream Career by Veering Off Her Original Path
After graduating from college with two degrees, Madalyn Davis, 32, found her dream job by accident. The ambitious Morganton native had already studied for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise science at Appalachian State University. An avid athlete as a child, Davis had thought she wanted to lead college teams as a strength and conditioning coach but soon learned that the job came with long and unpredictable hours.
After a few years of working in gyms, food service, and construction, Davis earned an online construction management degree and settled into a management position, but soon found that job was unpredictable and had long hours.
One day, she was picking up a package from UPS on Sweeten Creek Road when she noticed a long line of cars streaming out of a parking lot. “I was curious where they were coming from,” she said. “I started googling and realized it was (from) GE Aerospace and manufacturing. I knew that meant shift work and better work-life balance.”
Davis saw online that GE Aerospace was hiring technicians for advanced manufacturing jobs that did not require a degree or related experience. She applied and was hired several months later. In three years, she has worked her way up to a job as an infrared thermography technician, a role where she inspects airplane parts to ensure they are working properly.
She works a 6:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. shift and has plenty of time to for doing things she enjoys, like cooking, baking, and competing in the CrossFit community. She’s also able to afford her own home in Morganton and “pay for anything I want” on her single income.
Davis says that the best part of her job is the variety and many opportunities for professional growth. GE Aerospace has a partnership with A-B Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) to offer employees professional development in everything from technical training to leadership and communication skills. Davis has taken advantage of these classes, including “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and “Crucial Conversations for Accountability”.
Davis began her advanced manufacturing career at GE Aerospace by taking a machining class at A-B Tech that taught her the basics of manufacturing equipment. From there, she was placed in the cooling hold department, where she ran drilling and electrical discharge machines.
After 15 months, she advanced to a job with more pay and responsibility in the shipping department and worked there for 10 months before upgrading to her present role in infrared thermography. The machine she works is like a giant infrared X-ray machine for airplane parts. It scans liners, which are used in GE9X engines. The machine ensures there are no defects, rotating the liner and taking photos from different angles, inside and out. It is not a fast process. Over the course of one eight-hour shift, Davis cleans the liner, secures it, then runs several rounds of photos, about 100 in total, to allow her to examine the part from all angles.
Davis, who loves to learn new things, said she has enjoyed learning the ins and outs of her new role. GE Aerospace also sent her to Detroit to learn about infrared thermography, which she finds fascinating, and she likes that her new role comes with the responsibility of inspecting a crucial part of a plane. It’s great to be part of the quality control process and know she’s contributing to GE Aerospace’s high safety standards. “Being able to look at the part in that depth and to make the call on whether it’s good or not; it’s neat to be a part of that,” she said.
Davis is surprised at how quickly she’s moved up through the ranks at GE Aerospace. She attributes her success to skills she developed playing sports as a child: persistence, self-discipline, and a willingness to work hard.
In the future, Davis hopes to advance further. She points out that GE Aerospace has a program where employees can apply to be trained as process engineers, a role that comes with even greater responsibility. As an engineer, she’d have the chance to help design and improve airplane parts to make them safer and more efficient.
It is this opportunity for growth, combined with the fact she is valued by her employer and able to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle, that makes Davis happy to go to work in the morning. She says someone just out of high school could come to GE Aerospace and work their way up to a good-paying position relatively quickly.
“You can earn (a lot) here without a degree,” she said. “You have to be a motivated individual and express willingness for advancement (but) you don’t need a degree to be able to work your way into a position that has a great quality of life.”
Patrycja Manning, Director of Economic and Workforce Development for the Advanced Manufacturing Center, pointed out, “Madalyn’s story highlights the strong partnership between A-B Tech and GE Aerospace. It is the story of an employer investing in its people by developing their talents, helping change their career trajectories and positively impacting their lives beyond the workplace.
Since July 1, 2025, A-B Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Center’s NCEdge Customized Training Program has supported GE Aerospace by:
- Training 426 Employees
- Delivering 56 training courses over the span of 1190 hours
- Providing training in leadership, technical training, new hires, safety, quality, maintenance, and more.
Made in Asheville is a series featuring success stories from A-B Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Center. Learn more about A-B Tech’s advanced manufacturing and customized training opportunities at Advanced Manufacturing Center NCEdge Customized Training for Industry.