Pub. 1 2021 Issue 1

41 WHY BECOME AN AUTO TECHNICIAN? These days it’s not easy to find a high-quality, good-paying job that offers someone without a four-year col lege degree the ability to advance into management and even ownership positions in a company. But today, automotive technicians at new car and truck dealerships have all of these opportunities. The average compensation of an automotive service technician at a new-car dealership is over $54,000 per year (including health and retirement benefits). Top technicians can make over $100,000 per year, and managers can make even more. And with a projected shortage of 37,000 auto service technicians through the year 2026, these jobs are in high demand at local dealerships in all regions of the country. Technician jobs are also available at America’s car and truck auctions, where millions of used vehicles are serviced be- fore sale every year. 750,000 total auto service techs 1M AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE TECHS 250,000 TOTAL DIESEL TECHS Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics CONTINUED ON PAGE 42