Auto Mechanic Overview
Auto Mechanic Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an auto mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.42 an hour? That's $36,234 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -1% and produce -6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Auto Mechanic Do
There are certain skills that many auto mechanics have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed organizational skills, troubleshooting skills and customer-service skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an auto mechanic, we found that a lot of resumes listed 24.2% of auto mechanics included customer vehicles, while 7.5% of resumes included customer service, and 6.6% of resumes included diagnosis. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the auto mechanic job title. But what industry to start with? Most auto mechanics actually find jobs in the retail and automotive industries.
How To Become an Auto Mechanic
If you're interested in becoming an auto mechanic, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 7.5% of auto mechanics have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.9% of auto mechanics have master's degrees. Even though some auto mechanics have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an auto mechanic. When we researched the most common majors for an auto mechanic, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on auto mechanic resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an auto mechanic. In fact, many auto mechanic jobs require experience in a role such as mechanic. Meanwhile, many auto mechanics also have previous career experience in roles such as automotive technician or machine operator.
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Auto Mechanic Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of mechanic you might progress to a role such as maintenance technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title maintenance supervisor.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Auto Mechanic
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Auto Repair and Service Auto Mechanic Auto Mechanic | Auto Repair and Service Auto Repair and Service | 03/26/2021 03/26/2021 | $52,17503/26/2021 $52,175 |
Eversource Auto Mechanic Auto Mechanic | Eversource Eversource | 03/23/2021 03/23/2021 | $81,39303/23/2021 $81,393 |
Eversource Energy Auto Mechanic Auto Mechanic | Eversource Energy Eversource Energy | 03/22/2021 03/22/2021 | $81,39303/22/2021 $81,393 |
Auto Service and Repairs Auto Mechanic Auto Mechanic | Auto Service and Repairs Auto Service and Repairs | 03/22/2021 03/22/2021 | $52,17503/22/2021 $52,175 |
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Assistant Auto Mechanic Assistant Auto Mechanic | Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe | 03/19/2021 03/19/2021 | $23,87803/19/2021 $23,878 |
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Auto Mechanic Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming an Auto Mechanic. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write an Auto Mechanic Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Auto Mechanic resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For an Auto Mechanic
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 24.2% of auto mechanics listed customer vehicles on their resume, but soft skills such as organizational skills and troubleshooting skills are important as well.
- Customer Vehicles, 24.2%
- Customer Service, 7.5%
- Diagnosis, 6.6%
- Engine Tune-Ups, 5.2%
- Oil Changes, 4.9%
- Other Skills, 51.6% See All Auto Mechanic Skills
Best States For an Auto Mechanic
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an auto mechanic. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Colorado, Ohio, and Maryland. Auto mechanics make the most in Washington with an average salary of $46,903. Whereas in Colorado and Ohio, they would average $46,777 and $46,706, respectively. While auto mechanics would only make an average of $46,449 in Maryland, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Idaho
$45,063
Avg. Salary
2. Ohio
$46,706
Avg. Salary
3. Kentucky
$44,406
Avg. Salary
How Do Auto Mechanic Rate Their Jobs?
Top Auto Mechanic Employers
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