Explore by Career/Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles.
- Median pay
- $49,670
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +4.2%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Key skills
- Repairing
- Troubleshooting
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
What they do
- Inspect vehicles for damage and record findings so that necessary repairs can be made.
- Test drive vehicles and test components and systems, using equipment such as infrared engine analyzers, compression gauges, and computerized diagnostic devices.
- Test and adjust repaired systems to meet manufacturers' performance specifications.
- Repair, reline, replace, and adjust brakes.
- Review work orders and discuss work with supervisors.
- Estimate costs of vehicle repair.
- Confer with customers to obtain descriptions of vehicle problems and to discuss work to be performed and future repair requirements.
- Align vehicles' front ends.
- Align wheels, axles, frames, torsion bars, and steering mechanisms of automobiles, using special alignment equipment and wheel-balancing machines.
- Tear down, repair, and rebuild faulty assemblies, such as power systems, steering systems, and linkages.
Majors that lead here
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.