High Performance Engine Mechanic

 

Types of Degrees High Performance Engine Mechanic Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many high performance & custom engine technician/mechanic graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	313
Undergraduate Certificate	102
Basic Certificate	74

What High Performance Engine Mechanic Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic 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 High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic Majors

High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic majors often go into careers in which the following 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Abilities for High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic Majors

A major in high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 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).
• 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.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

What Can You Do With a High Performance Engine Mechanic Major?

People with a high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic degree often go into the following careers:

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

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in High Performance Engine Mechanic?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 94% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	29
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	20
White	195
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	64

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic. About 0.3% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do High Performance Engine Mechanic Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $43,730 to $69,320 (25th to 75th percentile). 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 High Performance Engine Mechanic

Some careers associated with high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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 high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	34.3%
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)	39.8%
Some College Courses	7.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	5.1%
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.	0.3%
Master’s Degree	0.4%

Online High Performance Engine Mechanic 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)	9	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	8	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 High Performance Engine Mechanic Worth It?

The median salary for a high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic 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 High Performance Engine Mechanic

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to high performance and custom engine technician/mechanic.

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
General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Technologies	472
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.