BREA, Calif. — It appears that on average auto technicians are making more money, according to a recent poll of members of the International Automotive Technicians Network (iATN), an online community of auto technicians, repair shop owners and other auto service professionals around the world.
The network poll found that the average 2012 salary for iATN member technicians working in the U.S. was $51,000, compared with the $39,000 average salary reported by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in May 2012, for all technicians and mechanics in the country.
The iATN said its unscientific poll culled 6,338 member responses from those working full-time as a technician and after excluding abstentions, those not working in the U.S. and those with a title other than exclusively "technician," 1,420 responses remained. After accounting for differences in per-capita income by state using data from the 2010 U. S. Census, the iATN tallied an adjusted average salary of $51,000.
"The results of this poll are not surprising to me, nor likely to any of our members," said iATN President Scott Brown. "Although it's difficult to make a direct comparison between our results and the data reported by BLS, due to differences in how the data was collected, it would make sense that there is a strong correlation between iATN membership and higher salaries. By virtue of their activity on iATN, our members have shown that they have a strong interest in staying at the leading edge of their field and learning the latest diagnostic techniques and trends in shop management. At every level, our members have a strong desire to improve our industry."
iATN was founded in 1995 and has more than 76,000 members in160 countries.