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An auto mechanic is accountable for maintaining, diagnosing, and repairing vehicles of different types. He/She documents the intake of vehicles and reports to the service manager for directions of job priority. Furthermore, he/she checks the vehicle engine, vehicle computer and electronic systems, and all mechanical and electrical components. He/She diagnoses all incoming vehicle problems. An auto mechanic performs regular maintenance work, including replacing fluids, lubricating parts. Likewise, he/she schedules future maintenance sessions and ensures all equipment and tools are in good condition.


The minimum educational requirement for this position is a high school diploma or its equivalent. Applicants must have prior experience in a relevant field, and relevant certifications are a plus. However, you must be experienced with using diagnostic equipment. Skills for this role are multitasking, problem-solving, time management, interpersonal, critical thinking, and communication skills. You must have experience using general shop equipment. Auto mechanics make about $45,232 annually. Their salary varies between $28,000 and $74,000.

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.

Learn more about what an Auto Mechanic does

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 8.8% of auto mechanics have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.1% 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.

Learn More About How To Become an Auto Mechanic

Career Path For an Auto Mechanic

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.

Auto Mechanic

Average Salary for an Auto Mechanic

Auto Mechanics in America make an average salary of $41,683 per year or $20 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $59,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $29,000 per year.
Average Auto Mechanic Salary
$41,683 Yearly
$20.04 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Auto Mechanic

The role of an auto mechanic includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general auto mechanic responsibilities:

  • Test drive vehicles, and test components
  • Remove vehicle fluids including oil, gasoline, transmission fluid, brake fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, etc. Remove catalytic converters remove core
  • Perform work as outlined on repair order with efficiency

There are several types of auto mechanic, including:

Mechanic

Role:

These are the people you run to when what your dad said would fix the light that came on in your car didn't actually work. There's a reason they're called mechanics.


Mechanics get down and dirty when it comes to repairing, inspecting and maintaining cars. While they generally work in well-ventilated repair shops, they usually come home with at least a little grease on their hands.


They don't just let anybody become a mechanic (we're looking at you, dad). Most mechanics complete a program at a postsecondary institution and become industry certified before they're qualified to work on your car. That way you know your car is literally in good hands.

  • Average Salary: $47,149
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Automotive Technician

Role:

Automotive technicians work with everything that runs on wheels, except for bicycles, baby carriages, and wheelbarrows.


They work in repair shops, gas stations, garages, or service areas of automobile dealerships and repair cars, fix engines, and tune trucks. They figure out what is smoking under the hood, where the squeaking noise is coming from, or what is making the tires wobbly. They replace broken tail lights, tighten loose wheel bolts, adjust brakes, or hammer out dents. They do a number of other things as well, with components most of us are not even aware exist.


Automotive technicians are not afraid of getting their hands dirty or sliding in under partially elevated cars, and they typically do not learn their profession from books. They tend to love their job and make $40,150 per year on average.

  • Average Salary: $40,910
  • Degree: Associate Degree

Lube Technician

Role:

A lube technician is employed by the automotive industry and is in charge of making routine maintenance and making sure the vehicle works properly. You will perform oil checks and change the oils of vehicles when needed for the clients. You will use different methods to locate, and repair malfunctioned parts of the vehicles. Likewise, you will grease, examine, overhaul, and repair the brake system. You will tune vehicle engines for efficient repairs and functioning and maintain various working parts such as air conditioners, carburetors, and condensers.


The lube technician should be an intelligent learner who can understand and use new information frequently while working in the company and paying full attention to detail. You should be able to manage time efficiently and have a valid driver's license. A certificate of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) is a plus. The salary expected for the post is $25,489 yearly and $12.25 hourly on average.

  • Average Salary: $29,959
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Auto Mechanic Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active auto mechanic jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where auto mechanics earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Auto Mechanic Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Florida2,386$32,494
2Texas2,325$41,805
3California2,311$46,216
4Pennsylvania1,479$38,376
5New York1,403$40,284
6Georgia1,374$34,718
7Ohio1,303$34,815
8North Carolina1,116$34,714
9Illinois1,108$36,761
10Washington916$49,613
11New Jersey894$46,807
12Indiana863$36,964
13Virginia851$44,990
14Tennessee751$39,849
15Arizona714$44,059
16Michigan711$42,187
17Colorado701$45,869
18Wisconsin678$43,067
19Massachusetts678$48,203
20Maryland675$47,808
21Iowa662$43,925
22Alabama656$32,733
23Minnesota636$45,386
24South Carolina604$30,461
25Oregon560$40,127
26Missouri553$46,520
27Kentucky509$44,320
28Louisiana480$31,095
29Connecticut394$36,212
30Utah391$39,942
31Oklahoma367$34,914
32Arkansas338$37,633
33Mississippi300$34,931
34Idaho266$46,057
35Nevada266$36,078
36Kansas263$40,487
37Nebraska258$36,440
38Montana198$37,368
39New Mexico195$39,725
40New Hampshire182$34,636
41Maine147$42,631
42Delaware147$36,608
43Rhode Island127$37,117
44West Virginia126$47,030
45North Dakota125$42,085
46Alaska116$45,409
47South Dakota104$35,810
48Vermont92$42,356
49Wyoming87$46,004
50Hawaii87$32,902

Auto Mechanic Education

Auto Mechanic Majors

Auto Mechanic Degrees

High School Diploma

46.7 %

Associate

20.4 %

Diploma

14.8 %

Top 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, 25.3% 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, 25.3%
  • Customer Service, 7.8%
  • Diagnosis, 7.0%
  • Engine Tune-Ups, 5.5%
  • Oil Changes, 5.1%
  • Other Skills, 49.3%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Auto Mechanic Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Auto Mechanic templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Auto Mechanic resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Auto Mechanic diversity

Auto Mechanic Gender Distribution

Male
Male
96%
Female
Female
4%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among auto mechanics, 3.6% of them are women, while 96.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among auto mechanics is White, which makes up 60.5% of all auto mechanics.

  • The most common foreign language among auto mechanics is Spanish at 64.2%.

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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, Massachusetts, Maryland, and West Virginia. Auto mechanics make the most in Washington with an average salary of $49,613. Whereas in Massachusetts and Maryland, they would average $48,203 and $47,808, respectively. While auto mechanics would only make an average of $47,030 in West Virginia, 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

Total Auto Mechanic Jobs: 266
Highest 10% Earn:
$66,000
Location Quotient:
1.42

2. Wyoming

Total Auto Mechanic Jobs: 87
Highest 10% Earn:
$63,000
Location Quotient:
1.28

3. Iowa

Total Auto Mechanic Jobs: 662
Highest 10% Earn:
$61,000
Location Quotient:
1.6
Full List Of Best States For Auto Mechanics

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Top Auto Mechanic Employers

Most Common Employers For Auto Mechanic

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Eversource Energy$67,862$32.6313
2Ford Motor$55,331$26.6010
3CarMax$44,416$21.3513
4Mavis Tire$41,181$19.8018
5Byrider$40,091$19.2710
6Sears Holdings$39,555$19.02123
7KAR Auction Services$39,213$18.8520
8United States Marine Corps$38,458$18.4917
9Goodyear$38,372$18.4551
10Kmart$38,066$18.3014

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