I don't know what to say. I've been doing this for almost 10 years. Most importantly, you must enjoy working on cars. I have my good days and bad days. One thing is for sure is that you will save a whole lot of $$$ fixing your own car. No need to pay someone else to install a simple cams and clutches. If you know what I mean..

 

Liking it as a hobby and doing it for a career are completely different stories. Just give you an example, I like to keep fish and pets, but I will never work in a fish or pet store.

And really love what you do for work. A simple test would be if you don't get paid at all, would you still want to continue doing your "WORK"? If yes, congrats...you are living your dream. If no, then look yourself in the mirror and think again coz life is too short for regrets. Choose when you still can coz you are still young and have little responsibilities and no families.

 

I started working in the field about two years ago, and so far, i've never stopped learning. I find that the only way to stay on top of things is to read, read, and read. Not only does this let you know what future car model technology will bring, but for me, keeps the job fun and exciting because i know it will be a challenge when the time comes for me to work on them. I know a few of my work buddies quit for the same reason as Timcatz was saying, boring and repetitive, but they acted as if they were burnt out and did not want to learn anything new. How could anyone stay with something that they're not willing to advance? And a long term goal of mine has always been to get the 7-8 auto tech ASE and be master certified. There is a lot of opportunity to advance, and increased pay has to be earned, but that is what makes it satisfying As for the six figure salaries, that is obtainable, because i have heard of people making that much off of mastering electrical circuits and diagnosing them, and if they can do it, than we can make that much too, if we just put the work in.

 

I guess this is the way i see it, im master ase certified, jaguar gold certified, hold an associates degree in automotive technology from uti, and if this year continues to go as well as it has i should bring in around 50k. I would say the average pay is 30-60k per year depending on location, manufacturer, skill level, and most of all what type of work you do. i have met a few people who make 100k a year and more and they never touched an electrical problem. Diagnostic work is to time consuming. I make more money off a set of brakes and an oil change then i would if an ecm went bad. Finaly the auto industry has a very large turn over rate between people who can't take it and people who can't fix cars. On average i see 10 techs a year go through a shop. If you think you want to be in this industry go work at a jiffy lube for a month and then ask yourself if you can do that for the rest of your life.