The Ultimate Guide to Transportation Technician Careers
A passion for cars, trucking and heavy equipment, motorcycles, or boats can now easily turn into a lucrative and successful career.
In our Roadmap guide, The Ultimate Guide to Transportation Technician Careers, we discuss how careers in the transportation field have experienced continued growth and how this industry is fast becoming a desirable place to work with all sorts of advanced technology.
Download the guide to learn about the wide variety of options for a career in transportation tech, including:
The different sectors within the transportation industry
The types of jobs that are out there
What skills are needed
Average salary ranges for each position
Download the Roadmap ebook guide today by filling out the formHERE.
Do you like working with your hands instead of sitting behind a desk? When your aunt pulls up in her classic VW Bug, are you beyond excited when she lets you look under the hood? If so, a career as an auto tech may be right for you.
Although the automotive world is made up of mostly men, the number of women in the field is growing every day. Opportunity abounds in repair shops, dealerships, and at car companies. There is a place for you to build an exciting career and maybe even launch your own business.
Chapter 1
Current Stats on Women in the Transportation Industry
Women fill less than a quarter of the jobs (23.6 percent in 2019) in the motor vehicle equipment and repair industries. Only 17.9 percent of dealers and 9.9 percent of maintenance and repair workers were women, so the field is wide open for tremendous growth.
This trend extends from the shop floor all the way up to the C-suite. In 2018, only sixteen women (8 percent) were executives in the Fortune Global 500’s top 20 motor vehicles and parts companies, a small improvement from four years earlier, when there were 14 female executives (7 percent). And the same is true outside of the US—only 17.5 percent of the European Union’s urban public transport workforce are women, and they account for barely 10 percent of EU operations and tech jobs.
The good news? There is plenty of room for women to make a significant impact at the highest levels of this industry. Yes, the current numbers are low, but that opens the door for you to both participate in, and help create a more inclusive future.
Women are just beginning to make their mark in transportation.
To find out more:
• Download an ebook PDF version of the Women in Tech Guide by filling out the form here. • Or if you prefer to read it online go here.
FutureTechs Rock Awards Grand Prize Winner | The Humble Mechanic Partners With TechForce | Scholarship: Terry Emig Hero Spirit Award | WD-40 Virtual Event | SunState Continues To Support TechForce | Donate Your Car To Support Technicians | TechForce Peer Network | TMCSuperTech Augmented Reality Game | Cars Yeah! Podcast with Jen Maher | Garage Guru Scholarship Available.
2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards Grand Prize Winner
Congratulations to 2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards Grand Prize Winner Zander Worm, representing the Motorsports category of the Awards. Zander is a high-school student from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, who is determined to one day lead Chevrolet’s Corvette team.
2021 was the biggest FutureTechs Rock Awards yet, and we thank everyone who made this year’s Awards possible. Students were nominated from 39 states, 40% of this year’s finalists and runners up were women and more than $14,500 in prizes are being distributed. Learn more about the Awards and this year’s winners here>>
The Humble Mechanic joins the workforce development campaign
TechForce Foundation is excited to welcome Charles Sanville, AKA The Humble Mechanic as our newest celebrity ambassador! Charles Sanville is a certified Master Volkswagen Technician with over 10 years of experience. The Humble Mechanic YouTube channel features informative, accessible and fun videos about cars, parts and the technician career. Learn more about The Humble Mechanic here>>
Scholarship Highlight: Terry Emig Hero Spirit Award Winner
Congratulations to Hunter Nelson, the most recent recipient of the Terry Emig Hero Spirit Award! An Eagle Scout and UTI student, Hunter plans to use his automotive technology education to become a Porsche technician.
Learn more about TechForce Foundation scholarships and start your application in our peer network today at JoinTechForce.org>>
Virtual Event: WD-40 CEO to discuss impact of learning organizations on 5/26
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from CEO and Chairman of the WD-40 Company Garry Ridge and world renowned executive coach Dr. Marshall Goldsmith on May 26 at 1:30 PM EDT/ 10:30 AM PDT!
These industry leaders will host a webinar explaining how WD-40 Company evolved into a learning organization, and how learning moments can drive positive changes in your organization. The event is hosted by TechForce partners WD-40 Company and S/P2 Training, as well as the American Safety Council. Learn more and register here>>
TechForce Foundation thanks Sunstate Equipment, a long-time partner in our workforce development campaign, for their recent donation. Sunstate’s contribution includes $25,000 in support of TechForce’s general mission, and an additional $10,000 to fund our veteran-specific programs. Learn more about Sunstate Equipment here>>
Support technician students: Donate your vehicle to TechForce
Donate your car, RV or boat to TechForce Foundation to support students in their education and careers as professional auto, diesel, collision, aviation, and other transportation technicians. Your car donation will fund the technical education and careers of future technicians. Donate a car, RV, boat or other vehicle today by calling 1-877-957-2277 or clicking here>>
Join the world’s only peer network dedicated to future and working technicians
Are you on TechForce yet? Experience the world’s first and only peer network 100% dedicated to future and working technicians! Connect with other students, educators and working techs, compete in daily trivia and other fun challenges, and find events, trainings, scholarships and more. Join TechForce today>>
TMC releases augmented reality game to attract new technicians
TMCSuperTech is an augmented reality game that lets you progress through a career as a technician in the trucking industry. Start as a trainee and level up to full-time tech to customize the trucks in your garage. Do your job and do it well, and you will graduate from Full-Time Technician to the Owner of the shop itself! Learn about the app>>
Catch up with TechForce Foundation on the CarsYeah! Podcast
Have you heard TechForce Foundation CEO Jennifer Maher’s interview on the Cars Yeah! Podcast? Listen to catch up on some exciting updates from TechForce Foundation, including how you can join the world’s first peer network for future and working technicians. Listen here>>
Thank you to WrenchNation’s Frank Leutz and Desert Car Care
TechForce Foundation staff recently dropped by to say thank you to WrenchNation host Frank Leutz and the entire Desert Car Care of Chandler team for their outstanding support. TechForce joined Desert Car Care for lunch, a tour of the shop and to brainstorm ways to further serve student technicians. Learn more about Wrench Nation here>>
Reminder: Garage Guru Scholarships closing 5/31
Garage Gurus’ has extended the deadline for their annual scholarship through May 31, 2021. The scholarship is open to high school and post-secondary students pursuing an automotive technician education. Twelve students will be awarded up to $2,500 each to help support their educational expenses! Learn more and apply here>>
Thank you to all TechForce Foundation partners!
Associations: Automotive Communications Council, Automotive Maintenance & Repair Association (AMRA), American Rental Association (ARA), Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Automotive Service Association (ASA), Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), ASE Education Foundation, ASE Training Managers Council (ATMC), Auto Care Association/Women in Auto Care, Center for Advanced Automotive Technology (CAAT), Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement (CADIA), Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF), Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair (CCAR), Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA), Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, National Association of Automobile Clubs of Canada (NAACC), National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF), National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), National Center for Autonomous Technology (NCAT), SkillsUSA, STEAM Sports Foundation and American Trucking Association’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC)
Celebrities: Charles Sanville (The Humble Mechanic), Lyn St. James (IndyCar), Bogi Lateiner (Girl Gang Garage), Steve Johnson (Steve Johnson Racing – NHRA) and Julia Landauer (Julia Landauer Racing – NASCAR)
For more news on TechForce Foundation, follow us on social media at the links below!
TechForce Foundation® Announces 2021 FutureTechs Rock AwardsTM Grand Prize Winner
Ten transportation technician students recognized for outstanding
contributions as role models at school and in their communities
May 11, 2021 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ — TechForce Foundation announces the 2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards Grand Prize Winner is Zander Worm, a high school senior from Copper Country Intermediate School District in Hancock, MI. As a nonprofit dedicated to helping student techs achieve their professional dreams, TechForce created this prestigious award to honor our student technician community and recognize those who have a promising future and will shape the transportation industry. To learn more about the 2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards visit TechForce.org/FutureTechsRock.
Zander was selected as the Motorsports Category Winner by a panel of industry expert judges. His instructors describe his curiosity and interest in vehicles as profound. He regularly asks more information than the course requires, and spends time helping his classmates understand the material. A two time regional SkillsUSA winner, Zander is determined to one day lead Chevrolet’s Corvette team.
“I have been committed to the automotive industry as a whole my entire life,” says Zander. “I’ve been repairing or modifying my personal [1977] Corvette for the past three years and have been able to relate everything I learn with that to autotech and vice versa. I’ve rebuilt a 4-speed transmission from a bunch of scrap parts and swapped it into my originally automatic equipped Corvette. I’ve also used my autotech experience to design a rig and test a few cylinder head designs for my senior project. I swapped the best performing heads onto my Corvette. I’ve also replaced engines on a few personal vehicles in order to make a profit on sale. I love everything automotive and I’m determined to lead our industry into the future.”
During the May 3-7, 2021 People’s Choice public voting, TechForce followers cast thousands of votes among10 national Category Winnerswho were selected from more than 400 technician students by a panel of expert judges. This year’s nominees represented more than 75 unique schools in 39 states, including at least 32 high schools and 43 post-secondary schools. Over 40% of the 2021 Category Winners and runner ups were women, a significant proportion when considering only 3% of professional technicians are women.
Zander secured the largest number of votes and has been named the Grand Prize Winner, earning a $1,000 TechForce Foundation tuition scholarship and $1,500 in prizes from TechForce sponsors including training and prizes from Advance Auto Parts, a Smart Parts Washer from CRC Industries, a gift card from AutoZone and an iPad Air from Ford Motor Company.
Diesel On-Road Category Winner Brooklyn Booth received the second-largest number of votes, a significant accomplishment. All 10 Category Winners including Zander and Brooklyn will receive prizes valued over $1,200 from TechForce partners including WD-40, AutoZone, Ford Motor Company, Cengage Learning, Advance Auto Parts, FedEx Freight and CRC Industries.
The 2021 finalists each represented a distinct technical education discipline. The Category Winners include:
Automotive – Jana Warnke, Clover Park Technical College
Aviation – Alexander Fernandez, St. Lucie West Centennial High School
Collision Repair – Alfonso Porter, Universal Technical Institute Houston
Diesel Off-Road – Wyatt Brink, Meridian High School
Diesel On-Road (Grand Prize Runner Up) – Brooklyn Booth, Great Oaks High School Live Oaks Campus
Marine and Watercraft – Aaliyah Hickey, Chattanooga State Community College
Motorcycle & ATV – Frederick Wooten, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute Phoenix
Motorsports (Grand Prize Winner) – Zander Worm, Copper Country Intermediate School District
Restoration – Justin Arace, Central Carolina Community College
Welding & CNC – Martin Witt, Universal Technical Institute Long Beach
The FutureTechs Rock Awards are part of TechForce Foundation’s workforce development initiative to help inspire and support tomorrow’s workforce of technicians.
About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional transportation technicians. The Foundation distributes more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors, and spearheads an industry-wide workforce development initiative to help encourage and support more young people to pursue the vehicle technician profession. For more information, visit www.techforce.org. Follow us onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.
Finalists were selected from eligible nominations by industry expert judges. Each will receive prizes valued over $1,200 from TechForce partners including WD-40, AutoZone, Ford Motor Company, Cengage Learning, Advance Auto Parts, FedEx Freight and CRC Industries. The Grand Prize Winner as chosen by this week’s public vote will also receive a $1,000 TechForce Scholarship and additional prizes valued over $1,500, including additional training and prizes from Advance Auto Parts, a Smart Parts Washer from CRC Industries, a gift card from AutoZone and an iPad Air from Ford Motor Company.
TechForce Foundation® Announces Finalists and Opens Public Grand Prize Vote in its 2021 FutureTechs Rock AwardsTM
Ten transportation technician students to be recognized for outstanding
contributions as role models at school and in their communities
May 3, 2021 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ — TechForce Foundation® announces the finalists for the 2021 FutureTechs Rock Awards and opens the Grand Prize public vote. As a nonprofit dedicated to helping student techs achieve their professional dreams, TechForce created this prestigious award to honor our student community and recognize those who have a promising future and will shape the transportation industry. Meet the finalists and vote for the Grand Prize Winner at: TechForce.org/Vote. Voting is open through 11AM PDT, May 7, 2021.
Finalists were selected from eligible nominations by industry expert judges. Each will receive prizes valued over $1,200 from TechForce partners including WD-40, AutoZone, Ford Motor Company, Cengage Learning, Advance Auto Parts, FedEx Freight and CRC Industries. The Grand Prize Winner as chosen by this week’s public vote will also receive a $1,000 TechForce Scholarship and additional prizes valued over $1,500, including additional training and prizes from Advance Auto Parts, a Smart Parts Washer from CRC Industries, a gift card from AutoZone and an iPad Air from Ford Motor Company.
The 2021 finalists each represent a distinct technical education discipline. The Awards finalists include:
Automotive – Jana Warnke, Clover Park Technical College. Jana’s dream has always been to become an automotive technician, but she was discouraged from pursuing it her entire life. Now, after 18 years of raising a family through her husband’s military deployments and a recent battle with a serious illness, Jana will be graduating technical school at the top of her class later this year.
Aviation – Alexander Fernandez, St. Lucie West Centennial High School. Alexander earned 8 ASE certifications and the Yamaha ITOS certification this academic year, the most ever held by a student in his county. He has enlisted in the United States Navy as an Aviation Machinist’s Mate, where he will earn experience and licenses that will one day launch his civilian aviation technician career.
Collision Repair – Alfonso Porter, Universal Technical Institute Houston. Alfonso couldn’t decide on a career after his military service, until someone asked him “What would you do even if you weren’t paid?” He instantly knew he wanted to work on cars, and has overcome hardships including the 2021 Texas winter storm to pursue his technician career. Alfonso plans to one day open a shop of his own.
Diesel Off-Road – Wyatt Brink, Meridian High School. Wyatt has a passion for transportation. He has taken every shop class his school offers, works as a mechanic’s assistant and also participates in Future Farmers of America Agricultural Technology and Mechanical Systems competitions. Wyatt placed 7th in Washington State’s individual competition, and his team won the state and placed 8th nationally.
Diesel On-Road – Brooklyn Booth, Great Oaks High School Live Oaks Campus. Brooklyn has spent her senior year of high school working at a local Ford dealership, and is set to start an apprenticeship with one of the shop’s Master Diesel Technicians after she graduates this spring. Brooklyn has already earned a number of certifications, and plans to attend a Ford ASSET program after her apprenticeship.
Marine and Watercraft – Aaliyah Hickey, Chattanooga State Community College. Aaliyah is making waves, even in the first semester of school. She placed 2nd in her state’s SkillsUSA competition, and is described by her instructors as “one of the most dedicated students,” who “refuses to quit and keeps moving forward.” Aaliyah’s goal is to open a marine and motorcycle shop of her own.
Motorcycle & ATV – Frederick Wooten, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute Phoenix. Frederick is opening a new chapter in his life as a motorcycle technician. A disabled veteran, Frederick plans to use his technician training to open an independent motorcycle repair business. He also has a passion for supporting others, and aspires to help other disabled veterans enter motorcycle technician careers.
Motorsports – Zander Worm, Copper Country Intermediate School District. Zander’s instructors describe his curiosity and interest in vehicles as “profound.” He regularly asks more information than the course requires, and spends time helping his classmates understand the material. A two time regional SkillsUSA winner, Zander is determined to one day become the Chief Engineer of Corvette.
Restoration – Justin Arace, Central Carolina Community College. Justin holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematical engineering, but after working a desk job he decided that career was not for him. Instead, Justin opted to go back to school to pursue his lifelong passion for automotive restoration. Justin plans to become a master restoration technician, and one day even own a shop of his own.
Welding & CNC – Martin Witt, Universal Technical Institute Long Beach. Martin is a determined individual committed to becoming an automotive welding technician. After a career as an executive producer Martin made the decision to reinvent himself, learn a new skill, and pursue his dream of designing and building custom cars at his own shop.
The FutureTechs Rock Awards are part of TechForce Foundation’s workforce development initiative to help inspire and support tomorrow’s workforce of technicians.
About TechForce Foundation
TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional transportation technicians. The Foundation distributes more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors, and spearheads an industry-wide workforce development initiative to help encourage and support more young people to pursue the vehicle technician profession. For more information, visit www.techforce.org. Follow us onFacebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.
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"By connecting students, instructors, industry pros and working techs, the TechForce Foundation provides unilateral support to the transportation industry’s technician recruiting needs… The administration of our Scholarships by the TechForce team has been instrumental in delivering us with a successful method to gain interest from qualified candidates as well as provide our students with additional assistance to complete their education."
