What does a body shop technician do?
A body shop technician specializes in repairing and restoring the exteriors of vehicles. It is their responsibility to assess vehicle damage reports, conduct inspections, develop plans, provide cost estimates, remove damaged parts and attach new ones, realign frames and structures, perform installations and upgrades, and refinish surfaces. They may also assist clients by answering inquiries, providing them with vehicle care advice, and recommending upgrades. Moreover, a body shop technician typically works in a group setting, which requires an active communication line for a smooth and efficient workflow.
Body shop technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real body shop technician resumes:
- Perform panel repairs all around with the use of bondo and glaze.
- Have worked with everything from bondo and paint prep all the way to welding support pieces together.
- Maintain a safe, clean work area and follow all establish safety guidelines, ensuring conformance with OSHA.
- Complete prep and refinish to factory or customer specifications.
- Enter invoices electronically using CCC one and store invoices inside their specific file.
Body shop technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Body Shop Technicians are proficient in Body Shop, OSHA, and Refinish. They’re also known for soft skills such as Time-management skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Body Shop Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Body Shop, 24%
Assisted in the tare down, rebuild, and refinishing prep process in a family owned automotive body shop environment.
- OSHA, 11%
Maintained work areas within OSHA standards and regulations.
- Refinish, 10%
Repair damaged area /metal, plastic, fiberglass on vehicles Disassemble / reassemble / replace some vehicle body partsPrep and refinish
- Hand Tools, 10%
Assist with filing, grinding, sanding to repair automotive surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Customer Service, 9%
Repair sand and paint semi's.customer service
- Repair Orders, 6%
Generated and dispatched repair orders to technicians.
Common skills that a body shop technician uses to do their job include "body shop," "osha," and "refinish." You can find details on the most important body shop technician responsibilities below.
Time-management skills. The most essential soft skill for a body shop technician to carry out their responsibilities is time-management skills. This skill is important for the role because "automotive body and glass repairers must be timely in their repairs." Additionally, a body shop technician resume shows how their duties depend on time-management skills: "use alot different hand and power/air tools very reliable employee and always on time"
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling body shop technician duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "automotive body and glass repairers discuss auto body and glass problems, along with options to fix them, with customers." According to a body shop technician resume, here's how body shop technicians can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "keep body shop manager and customer up to date on progress of repairs. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of body shop technicians is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday body shop technician duties, as "automotive body and glass repairers must pay close attention to detail." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "paint cars, order parts, frame repair, detail cars, body repair and mechanical repair"
Dexterity. body shop technician responsibilities often require "dexterity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "automotive body repairers’ tasks, such as removing door panels, hammering out dents, and using hand tools to install parts, require a steady hand and good hand–eye coordination." This resume example shows what body shop technicians do with dexterity on a typical day: "air tools, hvlp paint guns and floor lifts used everyday. "
Mechanical skills. Another common skill required for body shop technician responsibilities is "mechanical skills." This skill comes up in the duties of body shop technicians all the time, as "automotive body repairers must know which diagnostic, hydraulic, pneumatic, and other power equipment and tools are appropriate for certain procedures and repairs." An excerpt from a real body shop technician resume shows how this skill is central to what a body shop technician does: "assisted collision repair technician in structual, mechanical and refinish procedures. "
Physical strength. Another skill commonly found on body shop technician job descriptions is "physical strength." It can come up quite often in body shop technician duties, since "automotive body and glass repairers must sometimes lift heavy parts, such as door panels and windshields." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day body shop technician responsibilities: "body repair customer service paint repair account management damage estimator/ correct pricing for jobs heavy physical requirments"
The three companies that hire the most body shop technicians are:
- Parker Global Strategies107 body shop technicians jobs
- Rush Enterprises43 body shop technicians jobs
- Asbury Automotive Group37 body shop technicians jobs
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Compare different body shop technicians
Body shop technician vs. Car customizer
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between body shop technicians and car customizer. For instance, body shop technician responsibilities require skills such as "body shop," "osha," "refinish," and "hand tools." Whereas a car customizer is skilled in "customer care," "car rentals," "credit card payments," and "car wash." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that car customizers earn slightly differ from body shop technicians. In particular, car customizers are 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a body shop technician. Additionally, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Body shop technician vs. Paint prepper
Each career also uses different skills, according to real body shop technician resumes. While body shop technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "osha," "refinish," "customer service," and "repair orders," paint preppers use skills like "windows," "painting process," "rough spots," and "mixers."
Paint preppers earn similar levels of education than body shop technicians in general. They're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Body shop technician vs. Auto body repairer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a body shop technician is likely to be skilled in "body shop," "osha," "refinish," and "hand tools," while a typical auto body repairer is skilled in "safety rules," "water pumps," "engine repair," and "torches."
Auto body repairers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $47,862. On the other hand, body shop technicians are paid the highest salary in the automotive industry, with average annual pay of $41,112.Most auto body repairers achieve a similar degree level compared to body shop technicians. For example, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Body shop technician vs. Auto body worker
Types of body shop technician
Updated January 8, 2025
