Students in Hawaii wishing to break into the auto mechanicfield have many options to explore that can lead them to a successful career. Many people have joined the automotive workforce in different capacities and areas of expertise and at varying levels of education and training. Deciding which kind of auto mechanic you want to be is a good first step in the road to reaching your professional goal. [En Español]
If you’re considering a career as an auto maintenance or service technician, a high school diploma is sufficient for some entry-level positions at most Hawaiian auto service businesses. Once hired, you will receive on-the-job training for common service technician responsibilities, such as learning standard car maintenance, which includes performing multi-point inspections, inspecting fluid levels, checking and changing oil, replacing oil, air and A/C filters, testing and replacing batteries, checking tire pressure and much more.
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Another good option at the entry-level end of the mechanic spectrum is glass installer/repairer. This job doesn’t require any prior certifications or licenses, and you can learn as you go.
However, if you want to become an auto mechanic in Hawaii there are some requirements you need to meet in order to make that goal a reality. In Hawaii, both the repair shop and the mechanic must have a license in order to operate. There are three kinds of auto mechanic licenses available in the state: the automotive license, the motorcycle license and the truck license.
Start with a postsecondary education at an accredited school then obtain an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification, followed by one or more of the three automotive mechanic licenses issued by the state of Hawaii. These items take some time and effort to accumulate, but your effort will bring you earning potential that wouldn’t be possible without them. Those requirements extend to collision and custom body repair mechanics and diesel mechanics too. Auto body and collision workers repair the more superficial parts of vehicles and, if employed in a custom shop, can be more creative with paint jobs and custom fitted car body accessories. Diesel mechanics are responsible for the repairing of larger trucks and buses, and they can work on almost any diesel powered automobiles.
You have several paths to choose from when getting started in the auto mechanic field, but most employers will require a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent for entry-level positions.
If you enjoy learning how to diagnose and fix vehicles, there are many options at the secondary level to prepare you for an automotive career. High schools across the country are now partnering with the Automotive Service Excellence Education Foundation (ASE) to meet the accreditation criteria required to prepare and motivate the new automotive service labor force.
In 2020, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a total of over 4,000 mechanics in the state of Hawaii. Of that total, 2,340 were auto mechanics and auto service technicians. There were 980 diesel mechanics and 800 auto body and collision repair mechanics. Currently, the job outlook for auto mechanic careers in Hawaii is growing and is forecasted to continue to increase by 3.2 percent over the next eight years. Hawaiian mechanics of every specialty are in demand, and there is a healthy job market for quality candidates to take advantage of. The more education and training you have, the more prospects you will have, which can lead to a larger salary.
In May of 2021, the BLS information showed that of the main three auto mechanic fields,diesel mechanics have highest salaries with an average hourly wage of $29.11, or $60,550 annually. The highest salary for diesel mechanics was reported at $36.98 per hour, or $76,910 per year.
Auto body and collision repair workers were earning an average of $22,78 per hour, or $43,370 annually. The top paid auto body workers that year were paid an average hourly wage of $36.02 or $74,930 per year. Service technicians’ average hourly pay in May 2021 was $23,23 or $48,320 per year, with pay reaching an average of $37.19 per hour, or $77,350 per year. Like many other professions, auto mechanic salaries vary by specialty, but it is easy to see that the more effort you put into your education and career, the more you will receive for that hard work.
| Occupation | Total Employed | Average Hourly Wage | Average Annual Salary | Lowest 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics | 2,340 | $23. 23 | $48,320 | $29,160 |
| Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers | ** | $22.87 | $47,560 | $29,420 |
| Automotive Body and Related Repairers | 850 | $22.78 | $47,370 | $23,840 |
| Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists | 980 | $29.11 | $60,550 | $38,210 |
| Region | Total Employed | Mean Hourly Wage | Mean Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI | 340 | $26,46 | $55,030 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 1,760 | $25,18 | $52,370 |
Auto mechanic schools and colleges are available to students in Hawaii who are interested in earning a formal education in automotive technology.
The schools listed below all offer ASE-accredited programs that can benefit any aspiring automotive mechanic. All three colleges offer students the chance to earn an Automotive Technician Certificate and/or an Automotive Technology Associate Degree.
Anyone interested in working as an auto mechanic in Hawaii can advance their career and earn more money by earning an ASE certificate.
ASE Certification is earned by passing one or more exams provide by ASE, some of which include:
ASE is the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, an independent organization that certifies automotive workers in basic automotive knowledge.
Applicants seeking the automotive certificate must have two years of work experience or one year of work experience plus a post-secondary certificate or degree to be allowed to take the certification test. The ASE also works closely with high schools and vocational schools in order to prepare the automotive workforce of the future.
Hawaii has open auto mechanic positions all across the state, but the most of the automotive work is found in the Honolulu area. Entry-level service technicians can easily find work at local oil and lube shops, while body work specialists and master mechanics can offer their expertise at various custom shops and dealerships across the islands. As far as diesel mechanics are concerned, there is never a shortage of work anywhere in the state.
| College | Address | Program Information |
|---|---|---|
Hawaii Community College | 1175 Manono Street Hilo Hawaii 96720 | Automotive Technology 1to Automotive Technology Associate Program Tuition: In-State $3,084, Out-of-State $8,220 Institutional Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges |
Kauai Community College | 3-1901 Kaumualii Highway Lihue Hawaii 96766 | Automotive Technician 1to Automotive Technology Associate Program Auto Body Repair and Painting 1to Tuition: In-State $3,132, Out-of-State $8,268 Institutional Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges |
University of Hawaii Maui College | 310 W Kaahumanu Ave Kahului Hawaii 96732 | Automotive Technology Associate Program Automotive Technology UndergraduateCertificate Program Auto Body Repair & Painting Associate Program Tuition: In-State $3,150, Out-of-State $8,286 Institutional Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges |
Honolulu Community College | 874 Dillingham Blvd Honolulu Hawaii 96817 | Automotive Technology 1to Automotive Technology Associate Program Tuition: In-State $3,054, Out-of-State $8,190 Institutional Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges |
Leeward Community College | 96-045 Ala Ike Pearl City Hawaii 96782 | Automotive Technology 1to Automotive Technology Associate Program Tuition: In-State $3,084, Out-of-State $8,220 Institutional Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges |
The average age of a vehicle on the
road in Hawaii is 11.
1 years. This figure adds to the growing demand for auto mechanics in Hawaii as repair is needed in a consistent basis. Each year, there is an upsurge in the number of auto mechanics in the state and that has remained consistent for several years. Future projections indicate that trend will continue, which expands the possibilities for auto mechanics in Hawaii. Average pay rates across the state have also been on the rise as Hawaii auto mechanics can rely on a comfortable income for years to come. Now is an opportune time to join the auto repair industry in Hawaii, as it combines competitive pay and job security.
Auto mechanic education is the first step towards a long and prosperous career. Selecting a school that offers this type of training can be done by carefully weighing the benefits of what each program has to offer. Some programs are longer in duration and culminate with the awarding of an Associate Degree in Applied Science.
There are others that take about half the time to complete and award graduates a Certificate of Completion or non-credit Diploma.
Each of these separate distinctions will prepare auto mechanics for what they will need as they enter the profession. The layout of an auto mechanic education program includes classroom instruction and hands-on instruction. The focus is to learn the essentials of auto repair by combining technical knowledge with repair techniques and concepts. Here is a look at some of the auto mechanic education programs in Hawaii.
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edu Work experience for auto mechanics is necessary in order to gain a better understanding of the job.
The more auto mechanics are exposed to automotive issues, the stronger their foundation of knowledge becomes. Work experience also helps auto mechanics on their way to achieving in ASE certification. Taking a certification exam mandates that auto mechanics meet work experience requirements. This means they must show proof of having worked in an auto repair setting for a set amount of time. Work experience also continues to sharpen an auto mechanics overall skill-set throughout their entire career. Gaining work experience in Hawaii can be accomplished by seeking out employment at the following auto repair businesses, in addition to a host of others.
For auto mechanics to have a complete repertoire of training, they need to acquire a certification that will allow them to repair motor vehicle air conditioner (MVAC) units.
This is called a 609-refrigerant certification, which is dispersed by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). It is given to auto mechanics who score an 84% or higher on a certification exam. Auto repair shop owners are required to employ auto mechanics who are certified, in order to conduct MVAC repair. Otherwise, they will be subjected to penalties. A 609-refrigerant certification is also required to purchase small portions of regulated refrigerants. Training programs are available to help auto mechanics pass the 609-refrigerant certification examination and here is a look at some of them.
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) provides the option of earning more than 40 different certifications in automotive repair.
Auto mechanics looking to receive a certification must meet work experience requirements and then pass and examination given by the ASE. Many auto repair shops feature auto mechanics who are ASE certified. They often show this by posting signs at their business location, as well as in their marketing materials and advertisements. Car owners tend to feel more comfortable allowing auto mechanics who are certified to work on their vehicles. From an individual standpoint, certifications help mechanics obtain better-paying positions auto repair shops. This can make for a more lucrative career as an auto mechanic. Below is a listing of most of the test series offered by the ASE.
Official ASE test centers have been set up throughout the state of Hawaii.
It is at these locations where auto mechanics must take their ASE exams. There are specific dates throughout the year which feature these exams and auto mechanics must pre-register. Upon arrival, auto mechanics must present the necessary documentation in order to sit for the exam. Here is a listing of the official ASE test centers in Hawaii.
Test Center #3106
Honolulu - Bishop Street
1132 Bishop Street
Suite 710
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
(808) 521-4389
Test Center #7452
Prometric Satellite Center
University of Hawaii Maui Community College
310 Ka'ahumanu Ave
Kahului, Hawaii 96733
(808) 984-3589
Test Center #7334
Prometric Satellite Site
Kauai Community College Test
One Stop Center, Room 103
Lihue, Hawaii 96766
(808) 245-8306
Test Center #7324
Prometric Satellite Center
Hawaii Community College Manono Campus
1175 Manono St Bldg 380 Rm 39
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
(808) 934-2700
Manufacturer certification training equips auto mechanic with skills needed to work on vehicles made by one manufacturer.
This training is offered through individualized programs that are available at select schools throughout the country. Car manufacturers such as Ford, Honda, Chrysler and BMW all have their own specific training programs. Within these programs, auto mechanics are taught the specifics of auto repair as it applies to these specific brands of vehicles. Attaining this type of training will allow auto mechanics to work at a facility that caters specifically to one brand of automotive manufacturer. The training goes beyond general automotive repair and is very specific. Some states are home to more manufacturer specific training programs than others and here is a look at what is available in Hawaii.
The earning capacity of a Hawaii auto mechanic varies.
The sheer volume of business allows certain auto repair shops to pay their mechanics a higher rate. However, there are steps auto mechanics can take to ensure a higher annual income. The first step is to attain an ample amount of work experience. This shows tremendous value in auto mechanics. The second step is to earn ASE certifications, which is another way of proving an auto mechanic’s worth. In Hawaii, the median salary of an auto mechanic checks in at $41,350 annually, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is much more earning potential than that amount, as the top 10% of auto mechanics in Hawaii earn a yearly salary of $63,480. There is no available data for the average salaries of auto mechanics in the capital city of Honolulu from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, auto mechanics in Maui and Kauai take home a median salary of $41,060 per year. The top 10% of auto mechanics in those regions earn an average annual salary of $58,880.
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47KB Maui Island - the second largest in the Hawaiian archipelago - can be imagined as the number " 8" 42 × 64 km in size at the widest places, where both ovals - larger and smaller - are two volcanoes fused with its lava flows in the middle (map at the end of the post).
Larger volcano - Haleakala ( Haleakala ) - rises 3 km above the sea. It is not surprising, but this is one of the highest mountains in the world, just another 5 km of it are hidden under water: the total height of the mountain from the foot to the top is 8 km. Second Volcano - Pu'u Kukui - has a height of "only" 1,764 m.
All life on Maui is concentrated in the isthmus between them with the largest city on the island - Kahului (population 26 thousand people), where the international airport is located; and also on the south side of the Puu Kukui volcano, which was chosen by expensive hotels and golf clubs. So that 1,800 km 2 of the island does not seem small, the roads here are such that it will take a whole day, or better, two, to drive around the entire island.
While many rent an apartment or a hotel room close to the sea, our starting point was this VRBO jungle house, which can be considered an adventure in itself.
They say that Maui, despite its modest size, has 5 or 6 climatic zones at once.
Roughly speaking, it is windy in the north, sunny in the south, rainy in the west, in the east - you don’t understand at all, but on the top of the volcano - ... sunset.
So our house ended up in the jungle, where every night a tropical downpour poured, frogs and cicadas sang, the drive to it was such that at one moment it was necessary to lower the car into a cliff, believing that there was a road, and to exit, respectively, on the very first wet morning, I left a greasy layer of rubber (both SUVs at the box office were front-wheel drive).
But how nice it was to return to this rainy forest breathing with moisture after a hot day on the coast! And how exciting it was to hone the skill of driving a car and a week later already leave from there without a single change back and wheel slip! Well, and most importantly, there is no one around wherever you look from any of the many balconies, of course.
We will start our virtual trip around the island of Maui on the southwest coast from Big Beach (Makena Big Beach ) - in fact, further along the coast the road ends - and we move clockwise around the entire island.
The road here does not close into a ring, but rather twists in a spiral, passing a kilometer higher, and we will end up at the top of a three-kilometer volcano. All mentioned places will be marked on the map at the end of the post.
So, the Big Beach in the town of Makena, for some reason I don't understand, often tops lists of Maui's beaches. There is absolutely nothing to do here, there is no shade, no palm trees, no coral reef, there is only a volcano hill and an uncle trying to suck in the most expensive coconuts on the island - $ 7 regular and $ 9large. The regular price around the island is $4.
All beaches have signs about dangerous currents - you need to be aware that a) the signs are permanent and they do not mean at all that the currents are dangerous at the moment and b) the currents are really strong at times.
The rest of the beaches around the cities of Wailea ( Wailea ) and Makena, no matter how you look at it, are much more interesting.
Even the same hill near the Big Beach can be seen better from here.
Almost any of them is an ideal place for photographing at sunset. And the Wedding Beach ( Wedding beach ) was chosen for ceremonies and wedding photo shoots for a reason - the main thing is to be the first to occupy stones and palm trees.
Sunsets here on Maui are what I miss the most.
Or rather, not even the sunsets themselves, but the warm colors with which everything is painted for another two hours before sunset: you can enjoy the sunset endlessly without even looking at the sky.
I once had one filter for processing photos - it was called "Hawaiian sunset" - and I could not understand why it was Hawaiian. Now everything fell into place. Then I thought: I’ll come from Hawaii and apply this filter to all the photos, but it turned out that it was completely redundant - the Hawaiian sun applied all the filters itself, and the “Hawaiian sunset” flew into the trash as unnecessary.
Further along the coast, beaches alternate with lava flows.
This one popped up on the list of the best places to watch a sunset on Maui.
Speaking of the busyness of the island - April here, one might say, is the beginning of the season, but look, there are quite a lot of people on the most popular beaches, yes, but it’s by no means that there was nowhere for an apple to fall. The situation is the same on the roads: there is traffic, but there are no traffic jams as such.
Typical shopping plaza parking half an hour before sunset.
If Maui weren't such a remote island, and if it were possible to come here by car, the same horror would be happening here as in Malibu in California.
In the south of the isthmus between two volcanoes there is a bird sanctuary with two prominent representatives - the Hawaiian stilt ( hawaiian stilt ):
Hawaiian stilt (Hawaiian Stilt) a less common name is Black–crowned night heron .
The latter looks like a mixture of a seagull and a heron, and its habits suggest that birds really did come from dinosaurs.
Further along the coast, there is an ocean center where at least one horned fish, the “unicorn”, swims in every aquarium.
It is unlike the Vancouver Aquarium - small, no marine mammals at all - and hardly worth your attention. Unless you want to look at porn stars.
This is the first part of the road that circles the western (smaller) Puu Kukui volcano - one of the 10 wettest places on Earth (which you can’t tell by its southern slope yet - remember, 5 climate zones , huh?)
On average, the extinct volcano receives 9.820 mm of precipitation per year - 6 times more than in Vancouver.
Rainbows are so common in Hawaii that they are even painted on every license plate in the state.
Access to the mountain is closed to everyone except researchers and employees of nature protection services.
At the top of the mountain, the land is essentially a swamp.
A limited number of Helicopter tours with footbridges from the summit are drawn annually by auction or lottery. Four-digit prices.
Here, on the south coast of the volcano, there are many wild beaches with camping sites. When you drive straight from the road to the beach - and the piece where you parked - is yours.
People come here with tents, mostly on weekends. On weekdays - free and private.
In my opinion, this is the best place on the island to let the kids into the sea and you can also see sea turtles and whales here.
Like water, you ask? Very warm, I could not think of a single place, even in the Caribbean, where it would be so comfortable to sit in sea water. I literally do not want to get out of the water, even to have a bite to eat.
And very salty. How it gets into the eyes once or twice - nothing, but after half an hour it starts to burn from each drop.
Drawn to my attention as one of the black sand beaches, Launiupoko also turned out to be of little interest, and the black sand looked more like mud. But novice surfers hang out here.
Not that there were any extraordinary waves, except in winter.
But a very cozy park.
Further, the road goes around the island on the western side, leaving the town of Lahaina behind - with hotels and a dozen more beaches - until the road is empty, narrows, and the beaches are not replaced by rocky bays.
On the northern side of the volcano, with rare exceptions, there are no longer any beaches, and where there are - wind, waves and stones.
Honolua Bay is listed as one of the best places for snorkeling, but not so much the brown water and the sign "do not snorkel when the water is brown" dare to check how many crosses on the beach.
There is a bad rocky beach, dirty water (after rain, all the juices from agro-industrial lands flow in rivers), but on the other hand, the coral reef and waves are sufficient for holding a women's professional surfing championship in winter.
I guess the water in the bay is suitable for snorkeling only in summer, but then there is another problem here - parking, which is only for 5 cars.
Anyway, the walk through the jungle to the bay was worth the stop.
On both sides of the trail, somewhere in the grass, there are unmarked graves of either unknown surfers or local residents. The Internet is neither a dream nor a spirit about them.
But who you expect to meet in the jungle almost less than Vancouver Lenin in the middle of Los Angeles is ... chickens.
Feral chickens that once escaped from farms and quickly multiplied due to the absence of predators on the islands have become a problem on Maui and especially on the island of Kauai. To control the population of wild chickens, mongooses have recently been brought to the island.
The highway has already turned into a single-lane serpentine, and at the northernmost point of the island a geological phenomenon has been discovered - a blowhole ( blowhole ): a grotto with a narrow hole at the top.
When a large wave hits the grotto, water under pressure with a rumble flies out of the hole to a height of up to 25 m. in the jet ass (in the next photo, the monkey is not visible behind the jet). The monkey remained alive only because at that moment the wave did not hit over the edge of the grotto. Well, evolution is a long process, but there are no complaints - Nakalele takes only the weakest mind.
The warning is completely ambiguous: DANGER - this is not a water park for you, people died here, don't be idiots, idiots.
By the way, the landscape of Cape Nakalele captures even without a geyser - basalt pillows indicate that the local stones were formed from an eruption under water, or, most likely, from lava flowing into the water.
But where the waves, smooth on the outside, were ground with water, their porous structure was exposed, suggestive of porous chocolate.
From here, only a third of the way is left to close the loop around the western part of the island with the Puu Kukui volcano, only in time this third takes almost more than the rest of the road.
And some people will not like such driving conditions.
The road often becomes single-lane - you have to honk before turning.
Sometimes you have to back up the serpentine to let the one with the advantage of movement pass.
Or snuggle up to a cliff or a stone wall.
A few videos to get a better feel for the tense situation on this amazing road:
Rental companies do not recommend driving this road, nor does any GPS route along it even if it is closer or faster.
Here's why.
I consider any road that a Google Street View car has traveled to be a public road, and such warnings are horror stories.
The main thing to remember is that you are not coming here for the picturesque views (although they are amazing) and not to test yourself and the car on the road, but to really enjoy this adventure, you should come here for one purpose - to experience Maui in your own skin.
And you shouldn't rent a car that is too big and especially wide, like, for example, the Jeep Wrangler that they are trying to impose on everyone. You definitely won't need 4x4 here.
Don't be surprised if you see (and have to miss) a school bus on this road - a small isolated village of Kahakuloa with only 20 families lurks in a bay on the northwest coast, and children take this road to school every day.
But there are already two churches here. And so in every village on Maui and even in some places just in the field - do not forget that the United States, in fact, took the Hawaiian Islands from the local tribes and actively imposed and continues to impose their faith on them in order to increase loyalty - #Mauinash, ept.
Hawaiians, by the way, descended from the Polynesians from Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands and inherited from them the basis of their culture and social hierarchy (monarchy). So one of the Hawaiian kings of the 18th century, as he should, richly tattooed Kahikili II, according to legend, every day before breakfast dived into the water from a 60-meter cliff on Mount Kahakuloa Head (196m):
Kahakuloa Head Iou Valley is one of the few accessible places on the Puu Kukui volcano, a short road leading to it begins already in the suburbs of Kahului, where the mountain serpentine becomes a two-lane highway - after the Kahekia road it is smooth and so wide that it seems that it can be driven across.
As far as I understand the geology of the You Valley, this is the result of the erosion of the slope of the extinct Puu Kukui volcano.
At least the main attraction of the valley - Iao Needle National Monument - is definitely the result of air erosion.
Its origin is exactly the same as that of the Sivash stone in Vancouver's Stanley Park, or almost like that of Black Task: once this piece of hardened lava was part of a neighboring slope, but over time the wind has exuded soft sedimentary rock around it, and more the solid monolith remained 370 meters above the valley.
According to legend, the phallic Needle Iou is associated with the god of the underworld Kanaloa , perhaps that is why the lands of the valley have become a burial place for the ruling strata of society since the 15th century.
Kepaniwai Park was built at the entrance to the valley as a reminder of Maui's multiculturalism.
When we visited here, the Hawaiians celebrated the day of Portuguese culture among the eastern pagodas, so we will consider that multiculturalism was a success.
So we got to the "capital" of the island - the largest city of Kahului. All roads in Maui lead here.
Notice how the electricity poles on Maui are similar to the high-voltage transmission lines in Coquitlam, Vancouver - apparently to withstand a hurricane.
There are few interesting things here - there are only plazas, Costco and the airport. The beaches in the city are empty because they are dirty - only lazy locals swim here.
In the suburbs, the beaches are not bad, but very windy - there was no desire to climb into the water.
Speaking of Costco, the difference in gas prices on the island is drastic: $2.10 in Costco, $2.85-3.15 anywhere else, and $4.10 in Hahn, which I'll talk about next time.
The selection here is quite different from any other Costco in the US or Canada, especially when it comes to local fish, particularly Mahi mahi ($15/lb) which is considered a must try.
