Automotive Body and Related Repairers
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
Most important skills
- Repairing
- Troubleshooting
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Transportation
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Sand body areas to be painted and cover bumpers, windows, and trim with masking tape or paper to protect them from the paint.
- Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.
- Remove damaged sections of vehicles using metal-cutting guns, air grinders and wrenches, and install replacement parts using wrenches or welding equipment.
- Cut and tape plastic separating film to outside repair areas to avoid damaging surrounding surfaces during repair procedure and remove tape and wash surfaces after repairs are complete.
- Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.
- Mix polyester resins and hardeners to be used in restoring damaged areas.
- Chain or clamp frames and sections to alignment machines that use hydraulic pressure to align damaged components.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (42% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (41.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (35.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Automotive Body and Related Repairers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 94% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 86% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 96% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 50% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 92% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 62% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 90% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 67% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 12.37%
- Occasional contact with others: 16.51%
- Contact with others about half the time: 12.94%
- Contact with others most of the time: 18.94%
- Constant contact with others: 39.23%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 26.48%
- Fairly important: 34.02%
- Important: 20.75%
- Very important: 18.62%
- Extremely important: 0.14%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 13.53%
- Fairly important: 23.92%
- Important: 12.37%
- Very important: 38.53%
- Extremely important: 11.65%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 19.8%
- Limited freedom: 4.72%
- Some freedom: 17.33%
- A lot of freedom: 58.15%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.66%
- Every day: 53.34%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 23.32%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.64%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.16%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.05%
- Every day: 4.83%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 40.87%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.42%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 47.2%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.52%
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 4.83%
- Fairly serious: 17.03%
- Serious: 24.95%
- Very serious: 40.95%
- Extremely serious: 12.24%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 49-3021.00 · SOC 49-3021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8