Automotive Technician

 

Career Profile
Automotive service technicians use their high-tech skills to inspect, maintain, and repair automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, ethanol and other alternative fuels, such as electricity. The increasing sophistication of automotive technology now requires workers who can use computerized shop equipment and work with electronic components while maintaining their skills with traditional hand tools. Technicians must have an increasingly broad base of knowledge about how vehicles' complex components work and interact, as well as the ability to work with electronic diagnostic equipment and computer-based technical reference materials.

Job Outlook
Employment of automotive service technicians and mechanics is expected to increase as fast as the average through the year 2014. Over the 2004-14 period, demand for technicians will grow as the number of vehicles in operation increases, reflecting continued growth in the number of multi-car families. Job opportunities in this occupation are expected to be very good for persons who complete automotive training programs in high school, vocational and technical schools, or community colleges as employers report difficulty in finding workers with the right skills.

 

Salary
Many experienced technicians employed by automobile dealers and independent repair shops receive a commission related to the labor cost charged to the customer. Under this method, weekly earnings depend on the amount of work completed. Employers frequently guarantee commissioned technicians a minimum weekly salary. Median hourly earnings of automotive service technicians and mechanics, including commission, were $15.60 in May 2004.

 

Automotive Technician

 

Disqualifiers/Barriers

• To be determined

Important Skills

• Strong interpersonal skills
• Good reasoning ability
• Attention to detail
• Good communication skills
• Willing to take and follow directions
• Able to work as part of a team
• Mechanical aptitude
• Diagnostic and problem-solving skills
• Knowledge of electronics and mathematics
• Ability to adapt to changing technology

 

Automotive Technician

 

Educational Programs

Austin Community College, Riverside Campus

 

License/Certification
ACC does not give ASE certification, but will help anyone with test registration. All ACC Automotive courses are designed to prepare the student for certification tests. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifies technicians with two years of experience, that pass one or more of the eight different testing areas in the automotive field. ASE also certifies schools through NATEF (National Automotive Teachers Education Foundation. ACC is certified by NATEF and has courses of instruction that correspond to the eight different ASE testing areas.

 

Length of Training/Requirements
Students should expect to spend three semesters, including a one semester internship with a local employer. There is no certificate associated with the training program that ACC has developed but individuals also do not have to take and pass the THEA test for acceptance into ACC. Their classes will be considered continuing education.

 

Location of Classes
Lectures and labs are held in building B at the Riverside Campus of the Automotive Department.

 

Automotive Technician

 

To be Determined