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What is a car mechanic and how to become one
What general advice would you give to a car mechanic?
Julia Johnson
Professor, Automotive Technology, Skyline College
Avg. Salary $37,369
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 1%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%
Asian 4.99%
Black or African American 9.67%
Hispanic or Latino 20.79%
Unknown 4.24%
White 59.50%
Genderfemale 2.47%
male 97.53%
Age - 39American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 39Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Car mechanic career paths
Key steps to become a car mechanic
Explore car mechanic education requirements
Start to develop specific car mechanic skills
Skills Percentages Diagnostic Tools 18.46% ASE 9.36% Engine Repair 9.06% Brake Pads 6.52% Customer Vehicles 5.87% Complete relevant car mechanic training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New car 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 a car mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real car mechanic resumes.Research car mechanic duties and responsibilities
- Adjust and set mowing heights for all mowers per the superintendant.
- Sharpen all mowing blades for greens mowers, rough mowers and fairway mowers.
- Perform diagnostics on vehicle ECUs in addition to vehicle services such as oil, brakes, and filter changes.
- Weld broken frames and battery boxes.
Prepare your car mechanic resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your car 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 a car 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 car mechanic resume templates
Build a professional car 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 car mechanic resume.
Apply for car mechanic jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a car mechanic job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first car mechanic job
Are you a car mechanic?
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Average car mechanic salary
The average car mechanic salary in the United States is $37,369 per year or $18 per hour. Car mechanic salaries range between $28,000 and $49,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do car mechanics rate their job?
Car mechanic reviews
Pay is minimal for your knowledge. Hours are better for white collar professionals. Have to buy your own tools with witch you could have bought your home with and no one cares. Treated as a second rate individual because you said "I'm an automotive mechanic." Expected to be perfect from customers who wonder why you didn't get it fixed on the first try when MD's almost never get it right. Expected to be an expert on over 60k types of automobiles that change every friggan year.....want more? If I had the choice to do it all over again I'd go into politics so I could rip off ppl every day and get rich and no one would ever complain.
Hands on /weld/electric/mech/plumbing……
People looking over me when they can’t do the jobs
Satisfaction of fixing, repairing broken vehicles and challenge of finding problems and correcting them properly.
Electrical problems are my least favorite.
Updated January 8, 2025
