Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between automotive repair technicians and repair technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an automotive repair technician, becoming a repair technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an automotive repair technician has an average salary of $43,699, which is higher than the $41,643 average annual salary of a repair technician.
The top three skills for an automotive repair technician include diagnosis, professional work and hand tools. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Automotive Repair Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,699 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $21.01 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 160,366 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
An automotive repair technician specializes in repairing and maintaining automotive equipment and systems. Part of their job requires them to communicate with clients to identify their needs, inspect the vehicles, conduct diagnostic and emission tests, troubleshoot problems, and replace or fix components as necessary. They also provide clients with cost estimates, discuss the extent of damages and needed repairs, and recommend other options or services. Moreover, as an automotive repair technician, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff for a smooth workflow.
A repair technician's role focuses on assessing the problem or damage of a device and implementing solutions for it to function again. Although the extent of a technician's tasks will depend on the device or industry of employment, most of it revolves around troubleshooting, providing technical support, installing and writing programs, detaching and re-attaching wirings, welding, and even thoroughly discussing problems and solutions to clients. Furthermore, there are instances when a repair technician must work in a team setting that requires coordination and communication.
Automotive repair technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Automotive Repair Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,699 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $63,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fairfield, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an automotive repair technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Automotive Repair Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between automotive repair technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Automotive Repair Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |