Mechanic
A car comes in doing something wrong, and you find out why. You test one part after another until you find the bad one, fix it, and tell the owner what it needed and what it costs.
Related: Engineer
The day in the life
Nadia’s car · 2014 hatchback
Shakes at red lights since Tuesday
- •the engine light came on Thursday and stayed on
- •128,000 miles
- •she needs it back by 4
written at the counter, at 8
Nadia is at the counter with her keys, and she has a minute before she leaves. You get one question before you touch the car. What do you ask?
Try a day as a mechanic
A short, playful taste of the real work.
Growing about as fast as most jobs, with about 66,200 openings a year.
A certificate or an associate’s degree from a school, or start in a shop and learn on the job.
What you’d do all day
The picture is somebody under a car with a wrench. That is part of it. Most of the job is finding out what is wrong: looking a car over, testing it, often with a computer you plug in, and working out which part is to blame before you replace anything. More than eight in ten mechanics use their hands on tools and parts almost all day, and about three quarters talk to people face to face every day.
What stays yours is the judgment: which test to run first, when a reading means a part is bad, and what to tell an owner who did not ask about her brakes. About a third of mechanics say a hard-to-fix mistake in their job is extremely serious, and about four in ten say they have a lot of freedom to decide how they work.
- Fixing and replacing parts40%
- Finding the problem20%
- On your feet, lifting20%
- Talking with owners10%
- Writing it up10%
Most of the day is the jobs a shop trusts a new mechanic with: oil, brakes, tires, and the parts somebody else found.
Most mechanics work in one of three places.
- Car dealershipsabout a third of mechanics. You work on one brand of car, often the newest ones, and the pay is the highest of the three.
- Repair shopsabout a quarter. You see every kind of car, and every kind of problem.
- Your own shopabout one in seven works for themself.
A typical early-career day
- 8:00The counter
The first owner tells you what the car has been doing. You ask when it happens before you touch it.
- 8:30The first test
You plug the scan tool in, then run the quick tests that rule a part in or out.
- 10:00The fix
You find the bad part, order it, and fit it when it comes.
- 1:00Something else you saw
With the wheels off you see the brakes are worn. You decide what to tell the owner.
- 3:30Before the keys go back
You drive it around the block, check what you took off is back on tight, and write the repair order.
A rough day for somebody a year or two into a repair shop. Most mechanics work full time, and evenings and weekends can be part of it.
The outlook
Where it’s going
Mechanic jobs grow about 5% by 2035, about as fast as most jobs, and about 66,200 open up every year. Cars stay on the road longer, and more of them carry safety systems somebody has to fix.
Right now
Where you work moves your pay. Dealership mechanics earn a middle of $59,920, repair shops $49,630, and tire and parts stores $45,700. Some shops pay by the hour, and others pay a set time for each job however long it takes you.
Would you like it?
Worth a look if you would rather find out why something broke than guess.
Tap any that sound like you.
In practice, people realize it’s their thing when…
…and it probably isn’t their thing when
How people get in
- 2
- Years it takes on average
- $4K a year
- Average cost
- 83 in 100
- Experienced mechanics who have passed a test that proves their skill
Every way in
A certificate or associate’s degree from a school
About a third of mechanics say a new hire needs one
About half a year at one college, for a certificate · $2,400 for that certificate, in state
Start in a shop and learn on the job
Over half of mechanics say a high school diploma or less is enough
Two years of work, then the tests that prove you know the job · No school fees, and you buy your own tools
How your first job gets decided
There is no exam to get the job. The clock is experience: the mechanic’s certificate, from a group called ASE, asks for two years of hands-on work, and a school program that group has checked can count as one of them.
What employers check
- A certificate or an associate’s degree from a high school program, a community college or a technical school. About 1,800 programs are accredited by the ASE Education Foundation.
- ASE certification: nine tests, from engine repair to diesel, $62 a test plus $34 an order, and about $530 for the eight that make a Master Automobile Technician.
- The air conditioning card: one short online test, $23, and it lasts for life. It is the quickest first credential in the trade.
Most first jobs are at a dealership or a repair shop, doing the jobs a shop trusts a new mechanic with.
- A certificate earns about $35,900 a year after you finish, and an associate’s degree about $42,900. The middle student debt is $13,686 after a certificate, among schools that report it.
- 83% of experienced mechanics bring their own hand tools, and the shop owns the big machines.
- A mechanic’s certificate from ASE lasts five years. Then you take the test again, or keep it current with an app that costs $52 a year.
When to apply
Two things set the calendar: the two years of work, and the tests you sit along the way.
- In school, or your first monthsPass the test that lets you work on car air conditioning, online. It takes an afternoon.
- Your first two yearsWork on cars every day. A school program checked by ASE, the group behind the mechanic’s certificate, counts as one of the two years.
- After two yearsTake the mechanic’s certificate tests, one part of the car at a time. Pass all eight car tests to reach the top level, Master Automobile Technician.
How long it takes
School, or a first shop job
About half a year to two years
Two years of work
School can count as one
Tests on each part of the car
Pass one, and you hold that certificate
About two years to your first mechanic’s certificate, either way in.
About two years to your first mechanic’s certificate, and you are paid to work on cars the whole time. You can try the finding part this week: work out why a pickup will not start, and write it up the way a shop does.
Try finding what is wrongFind Why a Truck Won't Start, and Write the Repair Order
Sam’s pickup clicks and will not start on cold mornings. Ask him what only he knows, pick your tests, find the reading that is not right, and write it all up for Sam: what was wrong, how you know, and what fixes it. Everything you need is in the chat.
Where these numbers come from
Written by the Sidequest team, from the sources below.
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics (SOC 49-3023), May 2025 wages, as printed in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*NET OnLine, including pay by type of employer. Pay one year after finishing: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field of study data, CIP 47.06 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies, June 2026 release. Dated October 2026.
- The outlook: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics (outlook 2025-35), page last modified September 14 2026, for openings, growth, why the work stays, where mechanics work, hours and how they are paid; O*NET OnLine 49-3023.00, read October 2026, for using their hands, standing, fumes and noise, small burns and cuts, mistakes, freedom to decide and talking face to face. Dated October 2026.
- Getting in: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, How to Become One, read October 2026, for the ways in. O*NET OnLine 49-3023.00 education answers, for what workers say a new hire needs. ASE (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence), Need to Know guide revised January 2026, the work experience form and the test registration page, for the nine tests, the two years of work, school counting as one of them, $62 a test plus $34 an order, and renewal every five years. EPA Section 609 page, updated June 25 2026, and the ASE refrigerant program page, for the air conditioning card. Vehicle Service Pros, reporting the ASE Education Foundation 2025 annual report, March 4 2026, for about 1,800 accredited programs. College Board, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2025, for $4,150 a year at a public two year college; College Scorecard for median debt after a certificate. AutoZone and Endeavor Business Media, State of the Market technician survey, August 2026, a survey of 302 mostly experienced technicians, for the share who hold an ASE certification and who bring their own tools. Dated October 2026.