Vehicle Repair

Types of Degrees Vehicle Repair Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many vehicle maintenance & repair graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	28,017
Basic Certificate	23,414
Associate Degree	16,706
Bachelor’s Degree	179
Master’s Degree	29
Graduate Certificate	2

What Vehicle Repair Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, vehicle repair majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Vehicle Repair Majors

Vehicle Repair majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Skills for Vehicle Repair Majors

vehicle repair majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Vehicle Repair Majors

Vehicle Repair majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

What Can You Do With a Vehicle Repair Major?

People with a vehicle repair degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	4.9%	$62,920
Automotive Body and Related Repairers	8.5%	$42,730
Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers	6.6%	$34,170
Automotive Master Mechanics	6.1%	$40,710
Automotive Specialty Technicians	6.1%	$40,710
Avionics Technicians	6.3%	$64,140
Bicycle Repairers	29.8%	$28,960
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists	9.3%	$47,350
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment	2.9%	$60,340
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	7.1%	$66,140
Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage	5.1%	$62,520
Motorcycle Mechanics	0.5%	$36,790
Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics	10.4%	$35,400
Painters, Transportation Equipment	6.5%	$42,280

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Vehicle Repair?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 207 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in vehicle maintenance & repair in 2021, making it rank #253 in popularity. This major attracts more men than women. About 94% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of vehicle repair majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	9
Hispanic or Latino	35
White	109
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	12

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Vehicle Repair. About 3.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Vehicle Repair

Some degrees associated with vehicle repair may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for vehicle repair careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	8.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	37.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	36.6%
Some College Courses	7.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	2.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	0.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Vehicle Repair Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1,438	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	325	0
Associate’s Degree	1,127	4
Bachelor’s Degree	1	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	1
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Vehicle Repair

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to vehicle repair.

Major	Number of Grads
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration	21,415
Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance	8,614
Electronics Maintenance & Repair	7,979
Precision Systems Maintenance	2,301
Mechanic & Repair Tech (Other)	1,175
Mechanics & Repairers	431
Energy Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies.	146

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Airman 1st Class Nigel Sandridge under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.