Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/441527
January 2015 | Overdrive | 33 Technician demand, pay are increasing By Jason Cannon and Todd Dills You've heard of the driver shortage, right? The world of diesel technicians is experiencing a similar dynamic as equipment evolves and becomes more complicated, many techs retire and fewer people enter the vocation. If you're schooled on post-2007 electron- ically controlled emissions equipment and know your way around a truck, your skills can be lucrative. Pay varies heavily by region. A top-cre- dentialed technician graduating from the Elizabethtown (Ky.) Community and Technical College can earn upward of $17 per hour, says Jerry Clemons, pro- gram coordinator. With average overtime, that equates to roughly $40,000 annually. But quick learners can up their earnings rapidly, he says, pointing to a 2010 gradu- ate of his program who recently relocated to Austin, Texas, with a pay package that hit $75,000 last year. With experience and ongoing education, others say, it's not unheard of to top $100,000. "This is as vibrant of an environ- ment for our students as I've seen here," Clemons says, looking back on his 15 years with the school. Average income for diesel engine specialists ranges widely, from about $26,820 for the lower 10 percent of earners to about $63,250 for the top 10 percent, according to a 2012 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The average is about $42,000, beating what BLS says Truck Foreman Scott Spoon Courtesy of Scott Spoon