3 Top Career Opportunities for an Automotive Technician

If you are looking for a stable career that offers plenty of room for advancement, the automotive industry is a great place to start. Vehicles are a necessary part of daily life, and in many countries the automotive industry is already one of the largest industrial employers. According to the International Energy Agency the worldwide total number of cars will triple within the next forty years.
With all that extra traffic, automotive service technicians are becoming more important. Actually, automotive careers are beginning to pay more than ever before. But cracking into that job market is not going to be easy.
The first step to finding the perfect automotive career is selecting the position that fits your skills and personality and taking relevant courses at a mechanic school. Here are your three best options:
Automotive Service Technician
Working in this type of position means inspecting, diagnosing, repairing, and servicing vehicles of all sizes. ASTs work with everything mechanical—the body, tires, parts, etc.—but also the software, electronics and onboard computers. Cars today do much more than carrying you from point A to point B, they have GPS, MP3 players, rearview cameras, and even parallel park themselves. All this technology makes technician jobs more complex than ever.
Here are some of the routine tasks ASTs perform:

Road testing vehicles
Using computers to test automotive systems and components and
Performing basic jobs like tune ups, oil changes and lubrications

ASTs typically specialize in one type of vehicle. You could choose to specialize in trucks, motorcycles, tractor-trailers, or a particular area, like engine and fuel systems, air conditioning, brakes or electrical systems.
Automotive Detailer
Detailers are experts in keeping cars looking good inside and out.
Detailer tasks include:

Steam-cleaning engines
Cleaning carpets and upholstery
Waxing and polishing windshields and windows
Touching up small paint chips
Coating tires with a special tire coat

When done well, a good detail job can increase the value of the vehicle by more than double the price of the work.
Tire Technician
Driving with the wrong tires can be extremely dangerous which is why you want to be sure your car sees an excellent tire technician. Their duties include installing balancing, repairing, and rotating tires. In colder climates they also stud tires for snow.
Tasks tire technicians usually perform include:

Locating punctures in tubeless tires
Reassembling tires onto wheels and
Replacing valve stems

Many go into automotive careers wanting to become a mechanic, but there are far more options available in today’s industry. You might even be interested in taking some dispatch courses to explore the world of transport trucks. If you are looking for a secure and growing field that offers excellent career advancement opportunities, a career in the automotive industry is a wise option.