Is Technician Pay an Issue attracting people?

[Joe Marconi]

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[T S]

Yes I do believe we need to make this industry more financially attractive. Many are lured in by interest in how cars work and fixing them as a hobby but soon find out how steep the earnings curve is when it comes to buying tools and going to school. Nowadays a tech nerd can buy a small toolkit  online and become a computer repair technician with minimal investment in tools and education. These jobs have far better starting pay and you don’t get your hands dirty. 

[Hands On]

You have to be as smart as an electrical engineer, with the knowledge base of a doctor, working in conditions similar to a garbage man, for the same salary as a garbage man.

[Joe Marconi]

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[dfrisby]

I believe tech pay will be going up rapidly, but so will shop labor rates. With the low unemployment currently, wages are going up in every industry. With the average tech pay of $41,000, if a tech was at work 40 hours a week all year he's only making $19.71 an hour.  While that's a decent wage for many, most techs have to invest in a lot of costly tools.  I was in a McDonalds a few months ago and saw signs all over the store advertising for employees with starting wage of $14 an hour.  Of course my breakfast there gave me sticker shock also.  The same will have to happen to the automotive repair industry or there will be no more techs.  I see shops all around going out of business. It's not because of it being a profitable business. It's because the shop labor rates throughout the area are to low to be able to pay techs well enough to attract them and keep them while most customers gauge the cost of one shop vs. another entirely on the shops labor rate.  Hands On says we have to have the same knowledge base of a doctor. Considering they only work on one make and two models, I'd say we may have to have a larger knowledge base in our profession. If we operated as doctors, we would also have a specialist for heater blower motors, and a different specialist for hood release cables and yet another specialist for brakes.  The same tech that replaces the spark plugs wouldn't even consider working on the exhaust system.  If we are going to keep techs coming to our industry, it will not be long before it will have to be an 80K or better per year profession.  That will be achieved as shops either raise the average shop labor rate significantly or go out of business placing more demand on the shops that survive.

[Md65]

I've always felt like it's an absolute travesty what I pay my techs compared to what they're worth, the unfortunate thing is as an industry we come nowhere close to getting paid what we're worth.  When I look at (and I mean ZERO disrepect here) what local Plumbers, Electricians and HVAC guys are making with a fraction of the tools an Auto tech has, I ask myself 'if I were to start over again, which trade would I pick...?'  and I figure most young soon to be tradesmen ask themselves the same question.  I've always felt the lack of licensing in our trade has been part of the issue as to why the trade as a whole is underpaid. Just my $.02

[JOEPROPER]

I agree with everything said above.  Tech wages are too low and will need to rise, but in order to do this,  labor rates and parts margins will need to rise also.  The money needs to come from some where and the cost of living isn't shrinking, so this is the wakeup call that most shops are faced with. 

This has to do with the criticism / wake up call that I received recently.   I was told that my shop wasn't clean and orderly, which could have cost me an opportunity that I was in pursuit of.  Attracting techs and customers alike begins with your shop's appearance.   Clean and safe work place sets your shop ( in some cases) apart from the competition, which in turn allows you to raise rates and hopefully be more profitable.  This is only a piece of the puzzle and stepping back and analyzing your operation should be done regularly to optimize profitability. 

Attracting quality techs is and will always be an ongoing challenge, so I'll be watching out for any advice that I can get.

[Joe Marconi]

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