Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 49-3023, #421 of 1,410 by filings
Automotive Specialty Technician
- Biggest sponsor
- EZ Collision LLC · 5% of its filings
- Busiest state
- TX · 21% of its filings
- Major group
- Installation, maintenance and repair · SOC 49
Weighing an offer for this job?
Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.
Median wage
$50,232
all PERM $103,272
Filings
61
#421 of 1,410
Approval
77.0%
field 96.8%
Median days
400
77 faster than the field
What it pays
Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.
Median offered wage
$50,232above 33%
Approval rate
77.0%ahead of 3%
Median days to decision
400 daysahead of 72%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
Who files it
The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.
Sponsors filing it
- EZ Collision LLC 3 filings
- JJ marketing INC 3 filings
- MTR AUTO GROUP LLC DBA ARRIBA MOTORS 3 filings
- Empire Shell Inc 2 filings
- Prestige Auto Works Inc. 2 filings
- All Concrete Chicago Inc. 1 filings
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 14 of 61 filings, 23% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Gillett Gillett, PLLC 10 filings
- Immigration Lawyers, P.C. 2 filings
- Kurczaba Law Offices PC 2 filings
- Law Offices of D Robert Jones PLLC 2 filings
- The Law Offices of Saher Joseph Macarius LLC 2 filings
- Zwaik, Gilbert Associates 2 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 20 of 61 filings, 33% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- Texas 13
- California 8
- Florida 8
- New York 6
- Illinois 5
- Massachusetts 3
How this is counted
The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 43 of 61 filings.
Where the work is
- Houston, TX 7
- Orlando, FL 3
- Porter, TX 3
- Sacramento, CA 2
- Yonkers, NY 2
- Aberdeen, MD 1
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 18 of 61 filings.
- Every sponsor that files it, by state, approval rate, offered wage and time to a decision
- Every filing for it, PERM, wage requests and H-1B, case by case
Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023
From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.
Country of citizenship
- South Korea 62
- Lebanon 45
- Brazil 40
- Mexico 32
- Pakistan 29
- El Salvador 26
Worker's education
- None 333
- High School 108
- Associate's 29
- Other 27
- Bachelor's 19
- Master's 1
Visa held when filed
- NOT IN USA 79
- B-2 63
- F-1 37
- F-2 27
- EWI 21
- E-2 14
Schools
- N/A 6
- NA 5
- MALINO HIGH SCHOOL 3
- COLEGIO DANIEL MUNOZ 2
- INSTITUTO NACIONAL ALEJANDRO DE HUMBOLDT 2
- KARAMANOGLU MEHMETBEY UNIVERSITY 2
Fields of study
- HIGH SCHOOL 19
- GENERAL STUDIES 16
- GENERAL 13
- N/A 11
- GENERAL EDUCATION 9
- HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA 7
The job itself
What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.
- United States704,640 jobs
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TXHouston
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FLOrlando
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CASacramento
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJYonkers
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDAberdeen
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
- median PERM offer
| Area | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $50,620 | ||||
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $50,940 | $32,822 | $43,805 | $54,787 | $65,770 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $47,850 | $34,778 | $44,138 | $53,518 | $62,878 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $72,020 | $45,968 | $57,117 | $68,266 | $79,414 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $57,760 | $39,437 | $50,565 | $61,714 | $72,842 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $57,630 | $37,211 | $47,424 | $57,658 | $67,870 |
How these figures fit together
BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.
The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More
DOL's levels for this job in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, year by year
Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.
| Wage year | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $32,822 | $43,805 | $54,787 | $65,770 |
| 2025-26 | $34,216 | $45,261 | $56,285 | $67,330 |
| 2024-25 | $32,136 | $42,266 | $52,395 | $62,525 |
| 2023-24 | $30,742 | $40,560 | $50,357 | $60,174 |
| 2022-23 | $30,430 | $40,331 | $50,232 | $60,133 |
| 2021-22 | $29,744 | $38,771 | $47,798 | $56,826 |
What the job is
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles.
- Preparation
- Medium Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- DOL's education basis
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Wage year 2026-27
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5.0%
- About 66,200 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- BLS
Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth.
The work, most important first
- Follow checklists to ensure all important parts are examined, including belts, hoses, steering systems, spark plugs, brake and fuel systems, wheel bearings, and other potentially troublesome areas.
- Test and adjust repaired systems to meet manufacturers' performance specifications.
- Perform routine and scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes, lubrications, and tune-ups.
- Inspect vehicles for damage and record findings so that necessary repairs can be made.
- Align wheels, axles, frames, torsion bars, and steering mechanisms of automobiles, using special alignment equipment and wheel-balancing machines.
- Repair, reline, replace, and adjust brakes.
Titles people use for it
Auto Mechanic (Automotive Mechanic), Auto Service Tech (Automotive Service Technician), Auto Tech (Automotive Technician), Service Technician (Service Tech), Auto Drivability Tech (Automotive Drivability Technician), Auto Mechanic (Automobile Mechanic), Auto Tech (Automobile Technician), Automatic Transmission Technician (Auto Transmission Tech).
Related jobs: Rail Car Repairers, Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists, Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers, Motorcycle Mechanics, Engine and Other Machine Assemblers, Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians.
This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Against other jobs
Where this sits in the ranking
Ranked 421 of 1,410 by volume: 420 filed at least as many filings, and 989 filed no more.
- Just above
- Admin. Assistant and Sales Representative 61 filings
- Just below
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists 60 filings
Other installation, maintenance and repair roles
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.
- #412 Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers 62 filings · 2 denied
- #454 Maintenance Workers, Machinery 51 filings · 1 denied
- #377 Automotive Body and Related Repairers 72 filings · 6 denied
- #467 Medical Equipment Repairers 48 filings · 1 denied
- #470 Facilities and Ground Support Mechanic 48 filings · 12 denied
- #360 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 77 filings · 3 denied
The same job on H-1B
24 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $41,600 a year; the middle half ran $34,970 to $57,075. By state and year in the salary explorer.
Notes on these numbers
Reading the wage
A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.
What the median is
The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.
What these numbers don't say
4 notes
- The code is the identity
- This one is SOC 49-3023. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
- A median isn’t an offer
- It's the middle of all 61 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
- Approval isn’t about the occupation
- The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Automotive Specialty Technician. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 61 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is EZ Collision LLC. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.
The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built
Weighing an offer?
Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.
Setting one?
All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.
Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load
O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.
O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.
BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.
BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it