Becoming An Automotive Service Technician

Answer 1

Automotive service technicians perform a variety of preventative maintenance, diagnostics and repairs on cars, trucks and other vehicles. If you’re a car enthusiast, or are mechanically inclined, then a career in the automotive repair industry might be for you. The main paths to achieving such a career are to apprentice in a shop or to attend a technical school. Beyond this, many technicians choose to take classes and seminars throughout their careers to stay abreast of developments in the field. Many technicians will also choose to become certified by the ASE, which certifies technicians, service writers and countermen in various areas of expertise.

When seeking out a career as an automotive service technician, apprenticeship provides the most direct route to actually working on cars. The availability of this option hinges on whether any local shops are willing to take on employees in an apprenticeship role. As an apprentice you can expect to get intense, hands-on experience in a working shop, while earning some sort of a wage as you learn. An industrious apprentice will learn innumerable shortcuts and tricks from the technicians he works with.

The other way to become an automotive technician is to attend a technical school. This allows you to gain an in depth knowledge of various systems, and the schools will often have access to some of the latest tools and diagnostic equipment. Though technical schools are often expensive, many large dealerships offer sponsorship programs where a student’s tuition is partially paid. In exchange for this, the student is contracted to work for the dealership at the end of the program.

Continued education is a big part of most automotive technicians lives, regardless of how they originally came to the career. Automotive manufacturers, large parts suppliers and other organizations offer courses that can allow a studious automotive technician to maintain his relevance in the face of changing technology.

Starting salary for automotive technicians will depend on which path is taken. An apprentice can often expect to make little more than minimum wage until he is able to perform repairs on his own. A technician with the ability to do simple repairs and bolt on replacement parts will often make several more dollars an hour than an apprentice, while a skilled technician can earn upwards of $50,000 a year. Automotive technicians are generally paid a commission on the work they bill out, so their earnings are largely tied to their skills.