How To Become An Automobile Mechanic: What It Is and Career Path

What is an automobile mechanic and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an automobile mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.43 an hour? That's $40,423 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAutomobile MechanicUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,423

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 5.01%

Black or African American 9.73%

Hispanic or Latino 19.10%

Unknown 4.24%

White 61.11%

Gender

female 3.21%

male 96.79%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an automobile mechanic

Explore automobile mechanic education requirements

Most common automobile mechanic degrees

High School Diploma

46.5 %

Associate

24.5 %

Bachelor's

12.9 %

Start to develop specific automobile mechanic skills

Skills	Percentages
Automobile Repair	10.70%
Brake Systems	7.80%
Engine Repair	7.04%
Oil Changes	6.56%
Diagnosis	5.45%

Complete relevant automobile mechanic training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New automobile mechanics learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an automobile mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real automobile mechanic resumes.

Research automobile mechanic duties and responsibilities

Perform diagnosis and repairs of general problems
Document repairs, modifications and inspections in accordance with FAA requirements on both paper and in an automate maintenance information database.
Complete training at the manufacturing training facilities for Hyundai and Nissan receiving various levels of specialist certifications.

Prepare your automobile mechanic resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your automobile mechanic resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an automobile mechanic resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable automobile mechanic resume templates

Build a professional automobile mechanic resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your automobile mechanic resume.