Career Explorer Installation and repair
Human edge, growing
Automotive body and related repairers
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 84% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.7% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $54,890
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.7%
- Openings a year
- 12,600
- People doing it (2025)
- 163,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment
- Assemble equipment or components
- Disassemble equipment
What the work looks like
- File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.
- Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.
- Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.
- Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as dealerships have difficulty competing with automotive body repair shops and their lower costs.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Electric motor, power tool, and related repairersHuman edge, growing, Index 88, +4.4%
- Automotive service technicians and mechanicsHuman edge, growing, Index 88, +5.0%
- Maintenance and repair workers, generalHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +4.2%
- Industrial machinery mechanicsHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +17.8%
Also known as: Auto Body Man, Automotive Body Technician (Auto Body Tech), Body Man, Body Technician (Body Tech), Auto Body Repair Technician (Auto Body Repair Tech), Auto Body Repairman, Collision Repair Technician (Collision Repair Tech), Collision Technician (Collision Tech).
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.