How To Become An Automotive Painter: What It Is and Career Path

What is an automotive painter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average automotive painter salary is $40,894. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an automotive technology major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an automotive painter. Automotive painters with a Automotive Sales Professional certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 2,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAutomotive PainterUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,894

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.0

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 3.26%

Black or African American 12.47%

Hispanic or Latino 21.30%

Unknown 3.96%

White 58.48%

Gender

female 4.98%

male 95.02%

Age - 41.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41.5

Stress Level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.4

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an automotive painter

Explore automotive painter education requirements

Most common automotive painter degrees

High School Diploma

46.8 %

Associate

19.2 %

Diploma

15.3 %

Start to develop specific automotive painter skills

Skills	Percentages
Spray Guns	17.95%
OEM	12.94%
Coats	9.77%
Hazardous Waste	8.84%
Stencils	8.04%

Complete relevant automotive painter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New automotive painters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an automotive painter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real automotive painter resumes.

Research automotive painter duties and responsibilities

Paint and/or refinish repair areas on vehicle to achieve a better than factory finish.
Set up ladders, and scaffolding according to regulation.
Use of relate PPE and knowledge of hazardous waste disposal procedures.
Set up portable equipment, such as ventilators, exhaust units, ladders, or scaffolding.

Prepare your automotive painter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your automotive painter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an automotive painter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Automotive Painter Resume templates

Build a professional Automotive Painter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Automotive Painter resume.

Apply for automotive painter jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an automotive painter job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do automotive painters rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Automotive Painter reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

Restoration of the vehicle

Cons

Disappoinment in my own work, as I'm interested in becoming perfect

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019