The following information is taken from Trends and Traits of Today's Technicians:  The 2001 Professional Automotive Technicians Survey by Ed Sunkin of the Underhood Service from March 2001.

For more information visit www.underhoodservice.com.  The entire article can be found at www.babcox.com/editorial/us/us30130.htm

Think this field is just for men?  Read about some of the growing opportunities for women.

ASE Certification

• 39% of those responding hold certification
• 21% say they plan to attain certification in the future

Why do technician's choose this career?

• 71.6% said it was because they liked working on cars
• 33.4% said it was because they had a family member who was a technician
• 9.5% said they felt it seemed like a good career
• 6.8% said they learned the work in the military
• 1.4% answered a technician-wanted ad

Education Level

• 21.3% attended college
• 10.7% graduated from college
• 42.7% received a technical/trade degree from a secondary institution

Growing Opportunities for Women

• The number of female auto technicians has tripled since 1988 (National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence Report) 
• Sixty-five percent of the customers that require repairs on their cars are women.
• Women influence 80% of the decision in the purchase of new cars and purchase 50% of all new cars. 

According to the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, in 1999 only 1.7% of auto service, body repair and related technicians were women.  The Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification group noted that in 1997, only 1% of the 250,000 technicians who took certifications were women.

"As auto systems become more and more computerized, the work is not the old-style dirt and grime, but more and more high-tech, electronic and math-based tasks that women can easily master." - Kay Troup, president of Melior, Inc. an automotive training company in Birmingham, Alabama

Traditional discrimination is reversing in the field.  Many women customers are more comfortable with women technicians.

"With the dramatic shift in our culture and with the growing shortage of qualified technicians, young women can find in automotive service a challenging career with opportunities to grow, strong job security, quality salaries and benefits and improved working conditions." - Troup, Melior, Inc.