General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair

 

Types of Degrees General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	318
Undergraduate Certificate	105
Associate Degree	49

What General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to general vehicle repair and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for General Vehicle Repair Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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 General Vehicle Repair Majors

When studying general vehicle repair, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Abilities for General Vehicle Repair Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a general vehicle repair student include the following:

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with general vehicle repair:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Automotive Master Mechanics	6.1%	$40,710
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	7.1%	$66,140

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair?

This major attracts more men than women. About 90% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	38
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	4

How Much Do General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $43,730 to $69,320 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to general vehicle repair. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair

Some degrees associated with general 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general vehicle repair have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	37.0%
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)	36.2%
Some College Courses	10.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.4%
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.	0.4%
Master’s Degree	0.5%

Online General Vehicle Maintenance & 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)	14	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	5	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Worth It?

The median salary for a general vehicle repair grad is $43,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 10% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $76,600 after 20 years!

Trades Related to General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair

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

Major	Number of Grads
Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician	33,827
Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician	8,686
Airframe Mechanics & Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician	7,143
Autobody/Collision & Repair Technology/Technician	4,725
Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician	2,739
Medium/Heavy Vehicle & Truck Technology/Technician	2,101
Motorcycle Maintenance & Repair Technology/Technician	1,140
Marine Maintenance/Fitter & Ship Repair Technology/Technician	823
Avionics Maintenance Technology/Technician	724
High Performance & Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic	489
Small Engine Mechanics & Repair Technology/Technician	213
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Technology/Technician	147
Engine Machinist	107
Other Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Technologies	97
Bicycle Mechanics & Repair Technology/Technician	11
Recreation Vehicle (RV) Service Technician	7

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.