Home of the Indy 500, Indiana is among one of the highest levels of employment in the country. This is true even though there are only a few different mechanic schools in Indiana that offer degrees and certificates in automotive technology or related fields. One of those few trade schools in Indiana is the nationally acclaimed Lincoln Tech which has campuses all over the country, including Indianapolis. At Lincoln Tech in Indiana, you will find 53 different bays, 37 auto and 16 diesel. If you want to learn more about this auto mechanic school and all of its campuses, be sure to check out our Lincoln Tech page.
Along with Lincoln Tech, Ivy Tech is a very well respected school which has many locations all across the state. In fact, Ivy Tech has 10 different locations all offering automotive technology. Ivy Tech is one of the largest auto mechanic schools in Indiana and their experience and connections are great. This means, no matter where you are, a school will be close to get you the education you need to start your auto mechanic career. On top of that, this trade school in Indiana puts a large emphasis on hands-on training to accompany their traditional classroom education. This equips their students with the training and knowledge necessary to earn their ASE Certification upon graduation. Therefore, Ivy Tech graduates are placed on a great track to start their careers as auto mechanics.
In contrary to the high level of employment, Indiana is among one of the lowest levels of average wage for auto mechanics. This is the result from a collection of different things, the main one being the extremely low cost of living in Indiana. The state is in the top ten cheapest states to live in with their gasoline prices being about 40% lower than in places like Los Angeles. Therefore, even though you aren’t getting as hefty of a paycheck after attending auto mechanic schools in Indiana, your dollar will go much farther than in most other states. If you want to live in Indiana but commute to work in Illinois you can get the best of both worlds, low cost of living and a higher wage, especially if you go close to Chicago.
In this graph, you can see many different things. For example, it is more rewarding for auto mechanics to specialize in diesel. This is because Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists have the highest pay with an average hourly wage at $21.25 and the largest average annual salary at $44,200. Along with that, this career path provides many open opportunities with a total of 8,170 positions in Indiana. The next highest paying automotive job is as an automotive body and related repairers. There are 3,280 positions in Indiana and the average hourly pay is $20.13 while the average annual salary is $41,860. Lastly, general Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics still make well over minimum wage with an average hourly pay of $19.31. With a total of 14,450 in Indiana, it is quite amazing that the average annual salary for this position is just over $40k at $40,170.
On top of working as an auto mechanic after attending one of the trade schools in Indiana, there are some awesome things for auto enthusiasts to do! For example, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) holds many different events throughout the year. This ranges from the Indianapolis 500 to events like the Red Bull Air Race or the INDYCAR Grand Prix. On top of the events at IMS, one of the country’s best automotive events is held in Indianapolis, the Bloomington Gold Corvette show. Along with these events for gear-heads, there are also many things for lovers of the outdoors such as the longest navigable underground river in the country or the limestone mine that resourced the Empire State Building. So, graduates of any of the trade schools in Indiana will have a lot of fun things to do in the state!