Mechanic Advisor was founded on the idea of providing a neutral and accurate resource for consumers looking to find a trustworthy mechanic to repair their vehicle. We also offer the ability for shops to showcase their business to customers in their area. Our experience gives us a unique insight into the world of automotive mechanics, including the many issues they have to deal with from industry challenges to day to day operations. One major issue the average mechanic has to deal with is a salary which is, comparatively speaking, quite low.
First of all, let's take a look at how much mechanics are paid according to official resources. According to U.S. News, the median annual salary for mechanics and automotive technicians was $36,610 in 2012. According to Indeed.com, the average salary of an automotive mechanic is $36,000, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for 2012 was $36,610. The BLS goes on to say that the bottom 10% of automotive service technicians earned less than $20,810 and the top 10% earned at least $60,070. The locations where a mechanic salary was highest were metropolitan San Francisco, Detroit, and Fairbanks, Alaska.
Assuming an annual mechanic salary of $36,610 broken down into an hourly wage, at 40 hours a week, this brings the pay to $17.60 per hour. Many, if not most mechanics work more than the standard 40 hours a week, so it's safe to assume that the average hourly rate for a mechanic is lower than $17.60. Comparatively speaking, this salary is slightly higher than some other workers who fall into the 'service workers' category. For instance, landscapers and groundskeepers earn $25,870 annually. However, maintenance and repair workers, as well as fabricators, make around $37,000 annually, slightly more than mechanics. Based on this data, you would assume that mechanics are in the appropriate range for the work they perform, but that can be somewhat misleading.
There are several reasons why it would be unfair to compare a mechanic salary to similar service workers. The first reason is education. Techs need to learn about the intricacies and details of complex modern automobiles, and their ever evolving technology. This means that in addition to attending trade school, and on-the-job education, a mechanic must constantly stay up to date on the latest advancements in automotive engineering, something that isn't very easy to do. Mechanics must also spend thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars on tools to be able to perform their job correctly, which is money out of their paycheck that is oftentimes not even able to be written-off.
Finally, it's important to note how unbelievably complicated and stressful a mechanic's day actually is. The work is physically demanding, and takes its toll on the body, especially as young mechanics turn into middle-aged, and eventually old techs. Injuries are frequent, and working on cars with hot fluids, heavy and sharp parts, and tightly wound belts and bolts can be inherently dangerous. Add to that the oftentimes difficult task of diagnosing complicated issues on an endless combination of vehicle types by year, make, model, and style, before considering the fact that the work needs to be completed satisfactorily in order to provide a safe and properly functioning vehicle for the customer to drive home in, and the job becomes exponentially more difficult.
Finally, imagine dealing with everything mentioned above, but with the added stress of customers who need their vehicle repaired as soon as possible in order to be able to get around, upset that their car is broken, stressed out about the cost of the repairs, and inherently distrustful of your (the mechanic's) work and intentions. Not many people could argue that this combination of factors doesn't make the mechanic's job far more difficult than their service industry counterparts. What's even more unfortunate is that the pay for mechanics doesn't increase significantly over their career as it does for many other professions, so while the tech gets older, more hardened, and their body starts to break down, they still aren't bringing home much more money. This is probably why 'mechanic' is considered one of the most regretted jobs according to Monster.com. So, let's consider paying mechanics a little more money for their hard work, they've earned it.
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