ntroduction to automotive technology

IntroductIon to AutomotIve technology

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UNIT 1: careers IN The aUTomoTIve fIeld

lessoN 1: The aUTomoTIve TechNology career

I. Opportunities in the automotive field

A. AccordingtostatisticsfromtheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,over800,000peopleintheUnitedStatesareemployedasautomotiveservicetechniciansandmechanics.

1. Mostareemployedinthefollowingbusinesses:

a. Automotiverepairandmaintenanceshops

b. Automobiledealers

c. Retailersandwholesalersofautomotiveparts,accessories,andsupplies

2. Othersworkinthefollowingbusinessesororganizations:

a. Gasstations

b. Homeandautomotivesupplystores

c. Automotiveequipmentrentalandleasingcompanies

d. Federal,state,andlocalgovernments

3. Over16%owntheirowntheirownbusiness.

B. Manyjobopportunitiesareavailablethatrelatedirectlyandindirectlyto the automotive technology field.

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1. Opportunitiesdirectlyrelatedtoautomotivetechnology

a. Automotivetechnician

b. Automotivetechnician’sapprentice

c. Repairshopsupervisor

d. Exhaustandemissionstechnician

e. Tune-uptechnician

f. Servicewriter

g. Mechanicalunitrepairer

h. Technicianinautomotivemanufacturingplants i. Airconditioningtechnician

j. Enginetechnician

k. Teacherortrainer

NOTE: Manygraduatesofautomotivetechnologyprogramsqualifytopursueacareerasateacherortrainerwithlittleornoextratrainingrequiredforanentry-levelposition.

l. Dieseltechnician m. Businspector

n. Tractortechnician

o. Partssalvager

2. Opportunitiesindirectlyrelatedtoautomotivetechnology

a. Farmequipmenttechnician

b. Aircrafttechnician

c. Officeequipmentservicetechnician/servicerepresentative

d. Machinistapprentice


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e. Airconditioningandheatingserviceapprentice

f. Industrialmachinemaintenancetechnician

g. Smallenginetechnician

h. Marineequipmenttechnician

i. MotorcycletechnicianII. Training and certification

A. Repairingandmaintainingtoday’ssophisticatedvehiclesrequiresknowledgeinmanydiversesystemsandtechnologicallyadvancedareas.

1. Thedaysofgettingajobbasedonperformingautomotiverepairasahobbyortinkeringinthegaragearegone.

2. Mostjobopportunitiesrequireformaltraininginautomotivetechnologyinhighschoolorapostsecondaryschoolorcollege.

B. Certifyingorganizations

1. AsstatedontheirWebsite,theNationalInstituteforAutomotive Service Excellence (ASE) is a nonprofit organization thataimsto“improvethequalityofvehiclerepairandservicethrough the testing and certification of repair and service professionals.“

a. Automotive technicians can be certified in one or more of theeightareasbelow.

• Brakes

• Electrical/electrical systems

• Engineperformance

• Suspensionandsteering

• Automatictransmissionandtransaxle

• Enginerepair

• Heatingandairconditioning

AutomotIve technology

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• Manualdrivetrainandaxles

b. To be certified, technicians must have at least 2 years of experienceandpassanASEwrittenexamination.Theymustretaketheexamevery5yearstomaintaintheircertification.

2. TheNationalAutomotiveTechniciansEducationFoundation

(NATEF),anarmofASE,reviewstrainingprogramstoensuretheyaremeetingASEstandardsandstayingup-to-datewiththecontinuouslychangingautomotivetechnologyandrepairmethods.

a. Trainingprogramsrequestthereviewprocessonavoluntarybasis.Ifaprogrampassesthereview,NATEFrecommends it to ASE for certification. Programs must be reviewed again every 5 years to be recertified.

b. InASE’sautomobilespecialty,trainingprogramscanbecertified in the eight areas listed in 1a.

C. To stay current with changes and advancements in the field,

automotivetechnicianswillneedtoattendtrainingclassesthroughouttheircareers.Techniciansmayreceivetrainingattheirworkplaceormayneedtoattendclassesatatechnicalschoolorcollege.


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III. Job prospects in the automotive technology field

A. Prospectsareverygoodforindividualswithtrainingandskillsindiagnosis,problemsolving,electronics,andmathematics.Knowledgeinelectronicshasbecomecrucialbecausemostvehicleconcernsinvolveworkingwithoranalyzingtheelectricalsystem.AccordingtotheAllianceofAutomobileManufacturers,“electronicsnowcontrolmorethan86%ofallsystemsinatypicalvehicle.”

B. Manyemployersintheindustryhavereportedthatthereisashortageof automotive technicians and they have difficulty hiring individuals witheducationandexperienceintheareasdesired.

C. AccordingtotheOccupational Outlook Handbook,publishedbytheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,jobopportunitiesforautomotivetechniciansareexpectedtoincrease9%to17%throughtheyear2014.Thegrowthwillbeduetotheincreasednumberofvehiclesontheroadandthelossoftechniciansbecauseofretirementoradvancementtospecializedpositions.

D. Workforautomotivetechniciansisgenerallysteadythroughouttheyearandnotverysensitivetochangesineconomicconditions.Therefore,layoffsarenotabigconcern.

IV. Commonmethodsusedtopayautomotivetechnicians

A. Hourly–Thetechnicianispaidforthetimeheorsheputsin.

B. Salary–Asalaryisasetamountofmoney,usually40hoursperweek,regardlessofthevolumeofworkperformed.

C. Flatrate–Thetechnicianispaidhisorherhourlywagemultipliedby the time listed for a specific job in a factory flat-rate manual or anaftermarketlabortimeguide.Theseguidesaresometimescalledpartsandlaborestimatingguides.Techniciansrefertotheseas“bookhours.” The technician is paid this flat rate regardless of the time spentonajob.

D. HourlyplusapercentageoflaborandpartsV. Otherfactsaboutworkingasanautomotivetechnician

A. Automotivetechnician’susemanydifferenttoolsandequipment,includingthoseinthefollowinglist.Techniciansusuallypurchasetheirownhandtools,whereastheshopprovidesthemoreexpensivepowertoolsandequipment.

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1. Commonhandtools

2. Powertools

3. Machinetools

4. Weldingandoxyfuelcuttingequipment

5. Liftsandjacks

6. Computerstoperformadministrativetasksandaccessserviceinformation

7. Computerizeddiagnosticequipment

8. Measuringtools

9. Testinstruments

10. Otherspecialtytools,dependingontheautomotivetechnologyarea

B. Someshopsareunionized,whichmeansthattechniciansemployedtherearesubjecttounionrulesregardingpayandotherissues.Forexample,thetechnicianmayberequiredtoworkfor2yearsasanapprenticebeforeadvancingtothejourneylevel.Theunionalsofunctionstohelpemployeesnegotiatewiththeiremployersregardingsalariesandworkingconditions.

ntroduction to automotive technology

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