Automotive Engineering Technicians
Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Automotive Engineering Technicians. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $48,400 | $23.27 |
| 25th | $59,510 | $28.61 |
| 50th · Median | $74,510 | $35.82 |
| 75th | $88,110 | $42.36 |
| 90th | $106,050 | $50.99 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Typical tasks
- Document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools.
- Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures.
- Read and interpret blueprints, schematics, work specifications, drawings, or charts.
- Inspect or test parts to determine nature or cause of defects or malfunctions.
- Monitor computer-controlled test equipment, according to written or verbal instructions.
- Analyze test data for automotive systems, subsystems, or component parts.
Expand more tasks (12)
- Install equipment, such as instrumentation, test equipment, engines, or aftermarket products, to ensure proper interfaces.
- Perform or execute manual or automated tests of automotive system or component performance, efficiency, or durability.
- Maintain test equipment in operational condition by performing routine maintenance or making minor repairs or adjustments as needed.
- Analyze performance of vehicles or components that have been redesigned to increase fuel efficiency, such as camless or dual-clutch engines or alternative types of air-conditioning systems.
- Improve fuel efficiency by testing vehicles or components that use lighter materials, such as aluminum, magnesium alloy, or plastic.
- Fabricate new or modify existing prototype components or fixtures.
- Order new test equipment, supplies, or replacement parts.
- Recommend product or component design improvements, based on test data or observations.
- Recommend tests or testing conditions in accordance with designs, customer requirements, or industry standards to ensure test validity.
- Test performance of vehicles that use alternative fuels, such as alcohol blends, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biodiesel, nano diesel, or alternative power methods, such as solar energy or hydrogen fuel cells.
- Participate in research or testing of computerized automotive applications, such as telemetrics, intelligent transportation systems, artificial intelligence, or automatic control.
- Build instrumentation or laboratory test equipment for special purposes.
Skills used in this work
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- 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.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Expand more skills (29)
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
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