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What is a shop mechanic and how to become one
Shop mechanics are experts or professionals responsible for inspecting, repairing, and maintaining defective vehicles, light trucks, and machinery. Usually, they work in indoor garages. They can also be called or referred to as service technicians. As a shop mechanic, you must regularly conduct maintenance on systems, automotive vehicles, and machinery.
Also, you are expected to meet with customers to better understand their concerns and identify the issue. In addition, you must keep a log of repairs, maintenance records, as well as work logs. As a shop mechanic, you have to keep monitoring inventory and order new parts if and when needed. Furthermore, you must design a plan of action to cater to all upgrades and maintenance tasks.
You necessarily do not need to have a college education to be a shop mechanic. The most common degree for shop mechanics is a high school diploma and technical skills. An average shop mechanic earns $37,167 annually.
What general advice would you give to a shop mechanic?
Julia Johnson
Professor, Automotive Technology, Skyline College
Avg. Salary $47,377
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.06%
Asian 2.37%
Black or African American 7.87%
Hispanic or Latino 19.51%
Unknown 4.98%
White 64.22%
Genderfemale 3.63%
male 96.37%
Age - 42American 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 - 42Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is intermediate
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Shop mechanic career paths
Key steps to become a shop mechanic
Explore shop mechanic education requirements
Start to develop specific shop mechanic skills
Skills Percentages Hand Tools 7.12% Preventative Maintenance 6.18% Hydraulic Systems 6.05% Work Ethic 4.92% Cleanliness 4.83% Complete relevant shop mechanic training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New shop 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 shop mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real shop mechanic resumes.Research shop mechanic duties and responsibilities
- Maintain and manage shop for parts, supplies and priority in jobs and cleanliness.
- Assemble coils, weld with mig welder and leak test finished products.
- Install HVAC systems including repair, replacement and plumbing in residential homes.
- Maintain, troubleshoot, & repair HVAC, chill water systems & support equipment.
Prepare your shop mechanic resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your shop 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 shop 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 shop mechanic resume templates
Build a professional shop 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 shop mechanic resume.
Apply for shop mechanic jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a shop 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 shop mechanic job
Are you a shop mechanic?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average shop mechanic salary
The average shop mechanic salary in the United States is $47,377 per year or $23 per hour. Shop mechanic salaries range between $34,000 and $64,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do shop mechanics rate their job?
Shop mechanic reviews
Dealing with management and unqualified coworkers
Love the challenge to diagnose those insane offbeat issues that just don't fit into the everyday problems
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
Updated January 8, 2025
