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Major · Mechanic & Repair Technologies

The hands-on craft of putting wrecked vehicles back together

Autobody/Collision Repair Technology trains students to restore damaged vehicles — straightening structures, replacing panels, refinishing paint, and matching factory finishes. About 588 degrees are awarded annually across 154 colleges, almost entirely at the associate’s level, with graduates moving into body shop and refinishing roles.

Schools offering
154
Annual completions
588
Typical degree level
Associate's
Median earnings (5yr)
$60k

About this major

Autobody and Collision Repair Technology is a narrow, applied trade curriculum focused on returning damaged vehicles to factory condition. The subject matter is concrete from day one: pulling a bent unibody back to spec on a frame machine, MIG welding replacement panels, applying body filler and sanding it flat, masking a vehicle for paint, and laying down primer, base coat, and clear coat in a downdraft booth. Programs also cover plastics and adhesive bonding for bumper covers, mechanical and electrical disassembly around damage areas, and damage analysis with estimating software used by insurers. The CIP definition frames the work as repairing, reconstructing, and finishing automobile bodies, fenders, and external features — and that booth-and-bench emphasis defines most associate’s programs.

The major tends to draw students who like physical, visible work — who find the difference between a wave in a panel and a flat one satisfying, and who don’t mind the grind of sanding, masking, and prep that fills most of a refinisher’s day. Comfort with hand tools, welders, and color theory matters more than abstract math, though modern vehicle complexity — aluminum structural panels, ADAS sensors, EV battery enclosures — is pushing the technical reading load up sharply.

The scale of this CIP is small. About 588 degrees are awarded annually across 154 colleges, almost entirely at the associate’s level, and the top-completing programs are concentrated at community and technical colleges (Metropolitan Community College Area in Omaha, Lake Area Technical in South Dakota, Antelope Valley in California) alongside specialty trade schools like WyoTech and Lincoln College of Technology campuses. The core career — automotive body and related repairer — sits at a $51,680 median wage; refinishing and auto glass installation pay slightly less; insurance auto-damage appraiser pays more at $76,650 but is contracting under AI-assisted estimating.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Automotive body and related repairers $52k +1.6% High school diploma or equivalent
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders $48k +0.7% High school diploma or equivalent
Automotive glass installers and repairers $47k +3.6% High school diploma or equivalent
Insurance appraisers, auto damage $77k -8.2% Postsecondary nondegree award
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$60k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$60k

Bachelor's

$77k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you find the craft of bodywork genuinely interesting — straightening sheet metal, blending paint, rebuilding a wrecked car into something that looks factory-new — and prefer producing a finished, visible result over open-ended desk work. You may fit well if you want a clear regional job market with low geographic friction, since collision shops exist in almost every metro and most rural counties. The major also suits students aiming for a specific lane: I-CAR ProLevel certification, ASE B-series credentials, and OEM-specific training (Tesla, Ford ASSET, GM ASEP, Toyota T-TEN) that meaningfully raise earnings above the $51,680 SOC median. And it’s a fit if you’re open to apprenticeship or a 1-year certificate as alternatives to the AAS — both are real paths into the same starting jobs.

Think twice if your motivation is primarily earnings relative to time and cost. The typical education listed for the core occupation is a high school diploma, and a shorter certificate or registered apprenticeship reaches the same entry-level role — so a full two-year program needs to add real OEM partnerships, ADAS and aluminum training, or strong dealer placement to pencil out. Reconsider this route if the appeal is the broader vehicle — engine diagnostics, transmissions, full service work — because Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology is the larger and more direct path for that. Hold off if respiratory sensitivity, fine-motor precision under PPE, or long days standing in a booth are concerns; refinishing in particular is physically demanding work with real solvent and isocyanate exposure that proper ventilation and equipment manage but don’t eliminate.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE 25 0 25
Lake Area Technical College Watertown, SD 18 0 18
WyoTech Laramie, WY 18 0 18
Rosedale Technical College Pittsburgh, PA 17 0 17
Antelope Valley Community College District Lancaster, CA 16 0 16
Central Community College Grand Island, NE 15 0 15
Lincoln College of Technology-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN 14 0 14
Southeast Technical College Sioux Falls, SD 13 0 13
Lincoln College of Technology-Nashville Nashville, TN 13 0 13
Dallas College Dallas, TX 13 0 13
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician

10,351 completions/yr

Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician

2,426 completions/yr

Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician

1,506 completions/yr

Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician

600 completions/yr

Avionics Maintenance Technology/Technician

305 completions/yr

High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic

278 completions/yr

Motorcycle Maintenance and Repair Technology/Technician

268 completions/yr

Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician

250 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do autobody and collision repair majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum is shop-floor heavy. Students learn structural analysis on damaged vehicles, non-structural panel repair using filler and welding, plastics and adhesive bonding for modern bumper covers, refinishing techniques including primer, base coat, and clear coat application, and damage analysis with estimating software. Coursework also covers mechanical and electrical components disturbed by collisions — airbags, sensors, headlamp assemblies, and increasingly ADAS calibration. The CIP definition frames the work as repairing, reconstructing, and finishing vehicle bodies, fenders, and external features, and that applied bench-and-booth emphasis defines most programs.
Do I need an associate’s degree, or can I get into collision repair through a shorter path?
The primary career destination — automotive body and related repairer — lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry credential, not an associate’s degree. A shorter certificate program, a registered apprenticeship through a dealer body shop, or OEM-sponsored training can open the same starting door as the two-year degree. The associate’s adds structured curriculum coverage, transcripted hours that count toward I-CAR ProLevel and ASE credentials, and stronger placement with dealership and fleet networks. Whether the additional time and cost pay off depends heavily on the program’s OEM partnerships and on the regional shop hiring market.
What kinds of jobs do collision repair graduates end up in?
The core destination is automotive body and related repairer at a $51,680 median wage with 1.6% projected growth. A second common path is automotive painter or coating and spraying machine operator, which sits at a $47,590 median with 0.7% growth — narrower work but a clear specialization. Automotive glass installation and repair is a smaller adjacent role at $47,260 median and 3.6% growth. The highest-paying career in the data is insurance auto damage appraiser at $76,650 median, but it shows a -8.2% decline as carriers shift to AI-assisted photo estimating and remote workflows.
How does the major actually pay over time?
Five-year median earnings for this CIP run about $60,426, modestly above the core SOC wage because the cohort includes shop foremen, estimators, and small-shop owners. The associate’s-completer median sits near $59,760, while the bachelor’s split in the data shows $77,275 — a striking gap given that almost no programs award a bachelor’s in this CIP. That bachelor’s number represents a small, atypical cohort and should be read as informative rather than a typical outcome. Earnings rise with I-CAR ProLevel certification stacks, ASE B-series credentials, OEM-specific training (Tesla, Ford, GM, Toyota), and movement into estimating, shop management, or independent shop ownership.
How competitive is the collision repair job market right now?
Job growth for the core occupation is modest at 1.6%, but the headline number understates the picture. Vehicle complexity is rising — aluminum and high-strength-steel structural panels, ADAS sensor calibration after every windshield or bumper repair, and EV battery enclosure handling — and shops are short on technicians who can sign off on those jobs. Certified techs at Tesla-approved or OEM-certified body shops report meaningfully higher hourly rates than the median. Insurance Direct Repair Program shops on State Farm or Allstate networks generate steady volume but compress per-job pay, so the regional shop mix matters for earnings.
Is collision repair the right fit, or should I look at a related program?
If you want to work on the entire vehicle — engines, transmissions, electrical systems, and routine service — Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology (about 10,351 completions per year) is a much larger program leading to general service technician roles. Diesel Mechanics Technology (2,426 completions) is the right path if you’re drawn to trucks, heavy equipment, and over-the-road fleets. High Performance and Custom Engine Technician (278 completions) is narrower and aimed at racing and aftermarket work. Collision repair is the right track specifically if the appeal is bodywork, paint, and rebuilding wrecked vehicles into factory condition — a different daily craft than mechanical service.