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Automotive Engineering Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency.

Related: Aerospace Engineering & Operations Technologists & Technicians Calibration Technologists & Technicians Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technologists & Technicians Mechanical Engineering Technologists & Technicians Robotics Technicians

Industries: Manufacturing Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Analyze test data for automotive systems, subsystems, or component parts.
Analyze performance of vehicles or components that have been redesigned to increase fuel efficiency, such as camless or dual-clutch engines or alternative types of air-conditioning systems.
Improve fuel efficiency by testing vehicles or components that use lighter materials, such as aluminum, magnesium alloy, or plastic.
Fabricate new or modify existing prototype components or fixtures.
Build instrumentation or laboratory test equipment for special purposes.
Test performance of vehicles that use alternative fuels, such as alcohol blends, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biodiesel, nano diesel, or alternative power methods, such as solar energy or hydrogen fuel cells.
Order new test equipment, supplies, or replacement parts.
Document test results, using cameras, spreadsheets, documents, or other tools.
Monitor computer-controlled test equipment, according to written or verbal instructions.
Recommend product or component design improvements, based on test data or observations.
Participate in research or testing of computerized automotive applications, such as telemetrics, intelligent transportation systems, artificial intelligence, or automatic control.
Participate in research or testing of computerized automotive applications, such as telemetrics, intelligent transportation systems, artificial intelligence, or automatic control.
Maintain test equipment in operational condition by performing routine maintenance or making minor repairs or adjustments as needed.
Install equipment, such as instrumentation, test equipment, engines, or aftermarket products, to ensure proper interfaces.
Inspect or test parts to determine nature or cause of defects or malfunctions.
Read and interpret blueprints, schematics, work specifications, drawings, or charts.
Inspect or test parts to determine nature or cause of defects or malfunctions.
Perform or execute manual or automated tests of automotive system or component performance, efficiency, or durability.
Recommend tests or testing conditions in accordance with designs, customer requirements, or industry standards to ensure test validity.
Set up mechanical, hydraulic, or electric test equipment in accordance with engineering specifications, standards, or test procedures.

Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.

Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

73980/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

35.57/hr

Currently Employed

1,140

Yearly Projected Openings

130

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Analytical Thinking
Cooperation
Adaptability/Flexibility

Calipers
Chemical absorption gas analyzers
Compression testers
Digital testers
Dynamometers
Flowmeters
Force or torque sensors
Frequency counters or timer or dividers
Horizontal turning center
Leak testing equipment
Metal inert gas welding machine
Multimeters
Oscilloscopes
Pin gauge
Plasma arc welding machine
Refrigerated and heated walk in environmental or growth chambers
Signal generators
Speed sensors
Tension testers
Traveling column milling machine
Tungsten inert gas welding machine
Turning machines
Vibration testers

Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Development environment software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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