How To Become A Collision Repair Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a collision repair technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a collision repair technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.04 an hour? That's $43,760 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 5,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCollision Repair TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,760

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 1.76%

Black or African American 7.59%

Hispanic or Latino 19.14%

Unknown 4.13%

White 66.73%

Gender

female 4.96%

male 95.04%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a collision repair technician

Explore collision repair technician education requirements

Most common collision repair technician degrees

High School Diploma

32.3 %

Associate

26.7 %

Diploma

19.6 %

Start to develop specific collision repair technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Body Shop	21.74%
Collision Repair	15.93%
ASE	15.66%
Auto Body Repair	6.92%
Repair Vehicles	5.72%

Complete relevant collision repair technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New collision repair 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 a collision repair technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real collision repair technician resumes.

Research collision repair technician duties and responsibilities

Provide consistent sheet metal reconstruction, repair, rust and car component removal to OEM.
Develop acute attention to detail and high level of dexterity require for repair of intricate mechanisms common in photographic equipment.
Enter invoices electronically using CCC one and store invoices inside their specific file.

Prepare your collision repair technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your collision repair 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 a collision repair 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 collision repair technician resume templates

Build a professional collision repair 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 collision repair technician resume.

Apply for collision repair technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a collision repair technician 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 do collision repair technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Collision repair technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Working with hands, vehicle repair cost savings, tangible benefits, satisfaction.

Cons

Poor wages, physical damage to health, complicated repair procedures due to safety construction, liability due to lack of training, cost of having proper tooling, insurance companies dictating repairs. MSO’s working to monopolize shops, cost of materials