There might a baby born in your town today who will only work on battery electric powertrains. They will never know what they missed, having never worked on an internal combustion engine.
Will they miss the fumes, gasoline dripping onto their skin, exhaust system burns and hot oil splashing into a drip pan and missing the target? What about the carbon plugging up EGR ports or the slipping clutches? Who knows?
However, I do know this: a master-level, electric vehicle (EV) technician will be the most employable one in our field.
Let me digress for a moment, What is the proper name for someone today who works on motor vehicles? When I started getting paid to repair cars at a gas station after high school, I was called a mechanic’s helper. Later on, after I bought lots of tools, I was a mechanic, like my father and grandfather during their working years. (My father, Raymond, later owned a used car lot.)
In the 1970s, after I took and passed the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence — or “ASE,” for short — exam, the uniform patch said “mechanic.” Later on, the word was “technician.” That was about the same time I started my own repair shop. We are talking almost 50 years ago.
While the majority of mechanics today are staying away from high-voltage systems, there is an increasing number that are making the effort to stay up-to-date on all that is going on.
A few years back, I attended a conference for automotive instructors and the speaker held my attention when addressing what we name ourselves. Three titles are now in play for those who work in service bays:
- Mechanic, which I define as one who knows the art of metal, bolts and how things go together. They often do heavy and dirty work.
- Technician, which is someone who has been trained in the use of scan tools, electrical systems and can fix most anything if codes are present and the OEM diagnostic procedure leads you to the correct issue and/or a defective part.
- An engineer has the skill to fix vehicles that no one else can, by mastering electrical systems. He or she knows the theory of operation and has all the necessary information, tools and equipment. No-code issues and weird problems are the challenges they willingly take on. They will refuse to work on a vehicle that is too far gone and are quite fussy about doing things correctly.
There has been a shortage of “skilled” technicians for as long as I can remember. Mechanics and technicians can still be poached if the money is right or the job has more of what they are lacking at their present employer. Engineers are often the “mobile diagnostic techs' who will visit your shop for a fee or own their own small shop. Many of them specialize.
Where will EV technicians come from? Using the definitions stated, there will not be very many EV mechanics. If there are, it will be under the supervision of a master EV tech in a very
large shop.
If you are fortunate to work with the current generation of 18- to 30-year-olds — typically referred to as Gen Z — as I am, you may have noticed they want to make a contribution to humanity. By that, I mean they are trying to make a good living while solving a social problem.
They are “social entrepreneurs,” who create an environment at work that is responsive to solving social and environmental problems. At the core of social entrepreneurship is the belief that all of us, including big businesses, have a moral obligation to make the world a better place.
These companies — of which my business, Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), is one — hire people who believe that change is possible and know it isn’t easy.
As the planet continues to overheat, transportation technicians involved with all modes of wheeled movement will split into three groups: EV haters, EV lovers and those who “just need a job.”
I have seen this split happening since I taught my first hybrid class at ACDC in early-2000.
Gen Z techs — some now just finishing high school — will find the EV world a good place to work, make a difference and pay the bills. If you fall into the “EV lovers” category, make sure you contact your local automotive tech schools and schedule a time to visit with their students.
They may be looking to you for a job someday.
