What is an auto technician, and what is this career like? Ever-changing technology has made automotive mechanic careers a bit more complex than in previous decades.
Employers highly value automotive technicians who have successfully completed an auto technician training program and look for candidates who hold an additional auto mechanic certification or two, such as ASE or Snap-on.
If you’ve been thinking about a career as an auto technician or auto mechanic, read on to find out how you can boost your job prospects.
Train hands-on at an auto mechanic school like IntelliTec College. Receive auto technician training and hands-on experience with state of the art tools, equipment, and diagnostic computers and become prepared to begin your professional career as an automotive technician.
What are Automotive Mechanic Careers?
Automotive mechanics and technicians typically tend to the inspection, maintenance, and repair of automobiles. They perform basic services like oil changes and tire rotations, diagnose any problems and take care of any necessary repairs.
Good reasoning skills, extensive knowledge of automobiles and strong communication and analytical skills are all qualities that employers tend to look for in a good automotive mechanic.
How Can I Grow in My Career as an Auto Tech?
Automotive careers can be rewarding personally and financially. Though the outlook for automotive mechanic career growth is not quite as high as some other professions, there is still demand for automotive technicians. With the ASE and Snap-on certifications, competition should be greatly decreased, so someone with those credentials should have no problem finding positions.
As older automotive technicians start to retire there may be much need for highly trained individuals to take their place.
What are Auto Mechanic Certifications?
Having an auto mechanic certification can make you more desirable to employers. Snap-on certifications and ASE certifications are valuable for an automotive technician to have, and employers love them.
What is an ASE Certification?
The Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification is the automotive industry standard for automotive technicians. You should choose an auto mechanic school that can prepare you for ASE Certification testing. IntelliTec prepares you to take this exam with its auto technician training program.
ASE has 40+ exams that an automotive technician can take which are grouped by specialty. These exams focus on real-world knowledge of job-related skills. Retesting every 5 years is required to keep your ASE Certification current.
Two years of experience and a passing grade on one of the above ASE examinations listed below are required for each area of certification. You can substitute a reputable auto technician training program for 1 year of experience.
- Electrical systems
- Engine repair
- Brake systems
- Suspension and steering
- Heating and air-conditioning
What is a Snap-on Certification?
Having a Snap-on Industrial certification allows an automotive technician to successfully use Snap-on diagnostic equipment. Because of the sophistication of today’s vehicles, sophisticated diagnostic tools, such as Snap-on tools, are becoming more and more important to identify and diagnose repair problems.
IntelliTec College is one of the auto mechanic schools that has chosen to partner up with Snap-on Industrial, a program dedicated to the use of Snap-on tools and diagnostics.
- IntelliTec instructors are Snap-on certified and are trained to prepare each student to sit for the Snap-on examination.
- Each student also receives a set of Snap-on tools and a tool chest upon graduation from the program.
Start Your Automotive Technician Journey Today
The first step to making a major life-changing decision, such as choosing a career as an Automotive Technician, is to become as informed as possible about what that career entails:
- Competitive salaries
- Job versatility
- Lots of room for advancement
If that sounds like a good career choice for you, take the next step and begin your automotive technician career training today!
Sources
- National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)
- Snap-on Industrial: Transportation Certification Programs
- United State Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition: Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
- IntelliTec Colleges Blog: What Career Path is Right for You? Automotive Technicians