How To Become An Automotive Paint Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is an automotive paint technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average automotive paint technician salary is $36,939. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an automotive technology major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become an automotive paint technician. Automotive paint technicians with a Master Collision Repair & Refinishing Technician certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAutomotive Paint TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,939

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.7

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 4.59%

Black or African American 10.02%

Hispanic or Latino 19.22%

Unknown 4.26%

White 61.10%

Gender

female 6.56%

male 93.44%

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

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an automotive paint technician

Explore automotive paint technician education requirements

Most common automotive paint technician degrees

High School Diploma

41.4 %

Associate

22.4 %

Bachelor's

13.8 %

Start to develop specific automotive paint technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	28.01%
Customer Satisfaction	22.17%
Automotive Painting	11.83%
Body Repair	7.38%
Body Shop	5.46%

Complete relevant automotive paint technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New automotive paint technicians 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 automotive paint technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real automotive paint technician resumes.

Research automotive paint technician duties and responsibilities

Inspect cars, service and repairs specializing in BMW repairs, manage shop, price and order parts, customer service
Apply primer and finish coats with spray-guns, and rub down surfaces between coats.
Position alsoinclude RV technical work such as: replacing rubber roofing, installing A/Cunits.
Position also include RV technical work such as: replacing rubber roofing, installing A/C units.

Prepare your automotive paint technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your automotive paint technician 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 automotive paint technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable automotive paint technician resume templates

Build a professional automotive paint technician 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 automotive paint technician resume.