Welcome to Career Corner, a regular feature in Cougar News which highlights workforce programs at Collin College. In this edition, we are looking at a career as an automotive technician with a degree in Automotive Technology, one of the new programs to be offered at the Collin College Technical Campus this fall.
Today’s automotive service technicians provide reliable repair and service solutions using the latest technology to diagnose and repair vehicles of all kinds. With the population growth expected in Collin County, the demand for qualified technicians at repair shops, service centers, and car dealerships will increase as well.
Bryce Buschbacher, a technician at Mercedes Benz Plano, said that in addition to the local economy having demand for technicians, the work is intellectually stimulating. It challenges you to solve problems.
“If you have a regular job, you are going through the same process every day and you can get burned out on the repetition,” Buschbacher said. “At the dealership it is a new process every day. You never get bored with the job because every day you are facing something different. That’s the exciting thing about being in the industry.”
The financial rewards for someone committed to working hard can be considerable as well.
The program’s director, Shaun Smith, knows the power of an education in automotive technology first hand. He first considered going to school to become an automotive technician when he was taking General Educational Development (GED) classes at a community college. As a high school dropout with a girlfriend and child to feed, he was tired of working dead end jobs which barely made the rent and utilities.
His first job in the automotive field, doing entry-level work while still in school, was a $3 pay bump over any job he’d had before. He would go on to get his degree and become a technician making six figures a year on a “flag time” system which rewards technicians for the number of repair/service jobs done rather than a straight hourly rate.
At that point, Smith decided he wanted to pass the education he had gotten on to others and began teaching part-time at the college where he earned his degree. That turned into a full-time teaching role, followed by administrative roles. Ultimately he had the chance to help build Collin College’s Automotive Technology and Collision Technology programs from the ground up with the help of an advisory committee of industry professionals and based on approved industry and educational standards. Those programs are the ones students will get when they come to the Collin College Technical Campus this fall.
Graduates from Collin College’s Automotive Technology program will have opportunities in: dealerships; large tire, lube, and repair chains; and independent shops. In addition to earning a certificate or degree, students will earn industry-recognized Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certifications qualifying them for Maintenance and Light Repair (MLR) or Automotive Service Technician (AST) designation.
Smith has noted in the past that this industry is recession-proof and, with the skills the students will learn in the program, they can go and work anywhere in the world. “Cars are the same everywhere,” he said.
Career Outlook for Automotive Technicians and Mechanics
- Average Salary: $44,400*
- 19% growth*
Program Options
Associate of Applied Science (60 credit hours)
Level 1 Certificates
Brake and Front-end Specialist (18 credit hours)
Automotive Performance Specialist (18 credit hours)
Automotive Heating and Air Conditioning Specialist (18 credit hours)
Automotive Technology (29 credit hours)
For more information about workforce programs, check out the information sheets at www.collin.edu/academics/info/ or visit www.collin.edu/academics/.
* Average salary for occupation is as of 2018. Job growth projected from 2019-2025. Data obtained from JobsEQ (Collin County), O*NET, and Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas.
Note: The earning potential for employees with certifications and associate of applied science degrees may exceed the average salary.