How To Become A Smog Check Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a smog check 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 smog check technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.97 an hour? That's $43,614 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 10,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSmog Check TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,614

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.7

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 5.20%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 24.30%

Unknown 4.28%

White 57.49%

Gender

female 20.27%

male 79.73%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

7.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a smog check technician

Explore smog check technician education requirements

Most common smog check technician degrees

Associate

37.5 %

Bachelor's

35.0 %

High School Diploma

17.5 %

Start to develop specific smog check technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Repair Orders	100.00%

Complete relevant smog check technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New smog check 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 smog check technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real smog check technician resumes.

Research smog check technician duties and responsibilities

Achieve multiple ASE certifications within first year of employment.
Implement PLC programming and troubleshooting procedures while also initiating and executing process improvements and conducting parts research when necessary.
Follow all HIPAA guidelines with no exception.

Prepare your smog check technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your smog check 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 smog check 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 smog check technician resume templates

Build a professional smog check 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 smog check technician resume.