What’s important to automotive technicians when looking for a new employer? What does job satisfaction look like for today’s automotive technicians?
Using data from our latest Voice of Technician Survey along with a few other industry sources, we answer these questions and more below!
Demographics
- There are over 592,000 automotive technicians employed in the United States (IBISWorld).
- Post-secondary automotive completions in 2022 showed a 17% increase in only one year (TechForce Foundation).
- Over 465,000 new entrant automotive technicians will be needed between 2023 and 2027 (TechForce Foundation).
- The average age of automotive technicians is 40-years-old (Zippia).
- Women make up 12% of all automotive technicians in the United States (BLS).
- 85% of automotive technicians in the United States are white, followed by 29% who are Hispanic or Latino (BLS).
What Technicians Want in an Employer
- 93% of automotive technicians want paid vacation time.
- 89% of automotive technicians want to receive paid training from the shop they work for.
- 78% of automotive technicians want a well-documented career path.
- 75% of automotive technicians do not want to work weekends.
- 71% of automotive technicians want thorough and consistent performance reviews.
- 34% of automotive technicians prefer to be paid hourly with a production bonus, while 26% prefer flat rate with a 40-hour guarantee.
Automotive Technician Job Satisfaction
- 59% of automotive technicians think their shop provides fair compensation.
- 56% of automotive technicians think their shop provides good benefits.
- 56% of automotive technicians feel respected by their management.
- 54% of automotive technicians would recommend their shop to a friend.
- 41% of automotive technicians think their shop management communicates well.
- 38% automotive technicians think their shop has a well laid out career path.
Automotive Industry
- 30% of automotive technicians said they would eliminate flat rate as a first step to helping solve the technician shortage.
- 29% of automotive technicians would like shops to pay for tools or provide an adequate tool allowance as a solution to combat the technician shortage.
- 60% of automotive technicians have considered leaving the industry.
- Out of automotive technicians who have considered leaving the industry, 46% of them said stress related to pay was their biggest reason.
