First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers Salary

The median first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers salary in the United States is $79,860 per year ($38.39/hour). Salaries range from $49,600 at the entry level to $126,790+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 617,500 first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 3.1% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$79,860
per year
Hourly Rate
$38.39
per hour
Employment
617,500
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$49,600
25th percentile
$62,690
Median
$79,860
75th percentile
$101,360
90th percentile
$126,790

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+3.1%
As fast as average

Annual Openings

52,400
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent
+ Less than 5 years experience

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairerss.

First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers run the shop or the field crew β€” the service manager or shop foreman at an AutoNation or Penske Automotive dealership, the shop foreman at a Cat dealer (Holt Cat, Ziegler) or Deere dealer, the field service supervisor at ARS/Rescue Rooter or a regional HVAC contractor, the network-tech supervisor at a Comcast or Verizon field-ops garage, the maintenance supervisor at an aircraft MRO (AAR, HEICO, Delta TechOps). You own a crew of 6-24 techs, sell the ticket, dispatch the work, quote the estimate, own labor efficiency % and comeback rate, sign warranty submissions, and are the escalation on any job that goes over quote or blows a customer relationship. Pay is $49,600 (p10) β†’ $79,860 (median) β†’ $126,790 (p90) across 617,500 jobs β€” one of the highest-paying supervisor SOCs. Aircraft MRO and industrial repair sit at the top; auto dealership and HVAC sit near the median; cable/telecom field ops around the median. Promotion path: Lead Tech β†’ Foreman / Service Manager β†’ Fixed Ops / Service Director β†’ General Manager β†’ Regional Operations. Service Directors at large dealer groups clear $135-215k with productivity bonus.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Labor efficiency % (productivity, proficiency, efficiency)
The three-metric productivity triangle: Productivity = Clock hrs worked / Attendance hrs. Proficiency = Flat-rate hrs billed / Clock hrs worked. Efficiency = Flat-rate hrs billed / Attendance hrs. Best-in-class shops run 130-160% efficiency on strong techs; national averages are 90-110%. Supervisors who can't read these numbers can't run a shop.
Dispatch & workflow management
Route the ticket to the right tech at the right skill level β€” a diagnostic tech isn't a fluid-service tech isn't a driveability specialist. Balance the board so nobody's waiting for work and nobody's buried. Auto shops use dealer management systems (CDK, Reynolds & Reynolds, Dealertrack, Auto/Mate). HVAC/plumbing use ServiceTitan, FieldEdge, or Housecall Pro. Cable/telecom use proprietary field-service platforms (Comcast's XOC, Verizon's WFM).
Estimate accuracy & customer authorization
Own the pre-work estimate β€” parts, labor, taxes, disposal fees. Authorization signed (or verbally recorded per state law) before any additional work. Estimates that blow out by more than the state consumer-protection threshold (often 10-20%) require re-authorization or you eat the delta. Sloppy estimate discipline is the fastest path to a state AG complaint or a chargeback.
Warranty submission & recovery
Manufacturer warranty (auto: FCA, GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda; equipment: Cat, Deere, Cummins; HVAC: Carrier, Trane, Lennox) requires exact documentation β€” VIN or serial, fault code, part numbers, labor operation code, tech signature. Warranty submissions denied by the OEM come out of shop margin. Best-in-class shops recover 95%+ of eligible warranty; poor shops leak 15-30%.
Tech productivity coaching (billed hrs / clock hrs)
The number-one job of a service manager. Coach the slow techs, protect the fast techs from getting buried with warranty and comeback work, allocate the profitable jobs across the crew fairly. Weekly efficiency reports posted in the shop drive behavior. Bonus pay is often tied to efficiency %.
Comeback rate & customer satisfaction (CSI / NPS)
Comeback = a customer returning within 30 days because the fix didn't stick. Best-in-class shops run under 2%; struggling shops run 8-15%. Comebacks kill CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores and OEM bonus payments. Owner of the root-cause debrief when a comeback lands and the tech-training corrective action.
Safety, EPA & MSHA compliance
OSHA 10/30, plus vertical-specific: EPA 609 for auto A/C, EPA 608 for HVAC refrigerant, MSHA Part 46/48 for mining and quarry equipment, DOT compliance for HGV inspection, FAA A&P and 14 CFR Part 145 for aircraft repair, NFPA and NEC for electrical, backflow certification for plumbing. Compliance failures shut shops down.
Team recruiting, retention & tech shop-tool investment
The tech shortage is real β€” service managers spend meaningful time recruiting apprentices from technical schools (Universal Technical Institute, Lincoln Tech, WyoTech; NCCER-affiliated programs). Retention comes from clear compensation ladders, tool-purchase support, ASE / EPA / manufacturer certification sponsorship, and shop-culture basics. Losing a good tech costs $15-40k to replace.

How to Become a First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers

  1. 1
    Start as an apprentice or entry-level tech for 2-4 years
    $18-28/hr flat-rate or hourly depending on shop. Learn the craft β€” auto tech, HVAC service tech, cable installer, aircraft mechanic. Cross-train on adjacent skills (diagnostics if you're a general repair tech, mini-splits if you're an HVAC installer).
  2. 2
    Earn your specialty certifications (ASE, EPA, manufacturer, FAA A&P)
    Auto: ASE Master Technician (8 tests, 2-4 years to complete) + manufacturer certifications (Ford STAR, GM ASEP, Toyota T-TEN, Honda PACT). HVAC: EPA 608, NATE, manufacturer factory-authorized certs. Aircraft: FAA A&P certificate. Cable: SCTE certifications. These gate promotion into lead tech and supervisor roles.
  3. 3
    Move into Lead Tech / Team Lead / Master Tech role
    $28-48/hr + productivity bonus. You dispatch small jobs, mentor apprentices, own the hardest diagnostic tickets. This is the tryout for shop foreman.
  4. 4
    Get promoted to Shop Foreman / Service Manager / Field Supervisor
    $70-105k base + 5-15% productivity bonus + medical + tool allowance. You own the shop's labor efficiency %, comeback rate, warranty recovery, CSI score, and the crew's development. In dealership world, this is the Service Manager or Shop Foreman role reporting to the Service Director.
  5. 5
    Advance to Service / Fixed Operations Director, then GM / Regional
    Service Director / Fixed Ops Director: $115-185k + productivity bonus + car (dealership world). Regional Service Operations: $145-225k + LTIP. GM at a dealership: $175-350k+ with volume bonus. Aircraft MRO Ops Manager: $135-215k + bonus.

Career Progression

Lead Tech / Master Tech / Team Lead
0-4 yrs$28-48/hr flat-rate or hourly ($60-95k on billed hrs)
  • β€’Own the hardest diagnostic and repair tickets in the shop
  • β€’Mentor 1-3 apprentices on standard work and shop culture
  • β€’Cover foreman duties during PTO β€” dispatch, quote, warranty check
  • β€’Own a specialty (diagnostics, driveability, transmission, driveline; HVAC controls; aircraft avionics)
  • β€’Achieve and maintain ASE Master / EPA / FAA A&P / manufacturer master certifications
Next: Shop Foreman / Service Manager at 3-6 years, once you've run the shop unsupervised.
Shop Foreman / Service Manager / Field Supervisor
4-10 yrs$70-105k base + 5-15% productivity bonus + tool allowance ($80-125k total)
  • β€’Own dispatch, estimating, and workflow for a 6-24 tech crew
  • β€’Own labor efficiency %, proficiency %, and comeback rate
  • β€’Own warranty submission and OEM chargeback exposure
  • β€’Own CSI / NPS scores and customer escalations
  • β€’Recruit apprentices, coach corrective actions, deliver terminations
Next: Service Director / Fixed Ops at 8-14 years.
Service Director / Fixed Operations Director
8-15 yrs$115-185k base + 15-25% productivity bonus + demo car ($150-250k total)
  • β€’Own the entire fixed-ops P&L β€” service, parts, body shop
  • β€’Direct reports 2-4 service managers plus parts and body shop managers
  • β€’Own OEM manufacturer relationships and audit performance
  • β€’Own fixed-ops customer satisfaction, retention, and repeat visits
  • β€’Own fixed-ops recruiting pipeline and tech development
Next: General Manager (dealership) or Regional Fixed Ops at 12-18 years.
GM / Regional Fixed Ops / MRO Operations Manager
12+ yrs$150-300k+ base + bonus + LTIP + demo
  • β€’Own the whole store or a multi-store region
  • β€’Set the fixed-ops strategy, capital plan, and hiring pipeline
  • β€’Own OEM audit relationships across the region
  • β€’Interface with the dealer group's finance, HR, marketing, and legal
  • β€’Own succession planning for service managers and technicians
Next: COO, VP Operations, or dealer / franchise ownership.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 20 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through your last week's efficiency numbers.technical
Structure: (1) The three metrics β€” productivity, proficiency, efficiency β€” with your shop's targets and last week's actuals. (2) Best performer and worst performer by name (or anonymized). (3) Any variance driver β€” a tech out sick, a warranty spike, a diagnostic-heavy comeback series. (4) The specific action you took β€” reassigned a slow ticket to a faster tech, brought in the OEM technical hotline for a comeback, ran a tool-purchase discussion with the low performer. (5) The trend line week-over-week. Weak answer: 'I don't look at those numbers weekly.' Strong answer: rattles off the specifics.
Q2. A customer's estimate goes 25% over quote mid-repair. What do you do?situational
Stop the work. Call the customer, explain in plain language what you found, what it costs, and what will happen if you don't do it. Get written or recorded verbal authorization before proceeding β€” most states require it above a threshold (often 10-20%). If they decline, offer to reassemble to a safe state at the original estimate and return the vehicle. Never proceed on assumption. And after the ticket: run a debrief with the tech on why the estimate was off β€” misdiagnosed root cause, missed adjacent damage, or genuine surprise. Chronic estimate misses are a coaching moment.
Q3. How do you reduce comeback rate?case
Root-cause every comeback within 48 hours of return β€” tech, ticket, cause, corrective action. Common root causes: wrong diagnosis (send tech to OEM training), incomplete repair (add a QC checklist), wrong parts (tighten parts-department discipline), or customer perception (better delivery communication). Post the shop's comeback rate weekly by tech; use the data in the productivity conversation. Aim under 2% at a best-in-class shop; expect 3-5% at a healthy shop. Above 6% and something is systemically wrong.
Q4. A tech is chronically 30 minutes late but is your top producer. What do you do?behavioral
Standards apply equally. The top producer doesn't get a free pass on attendance β€” every other tech is watching. Deliver an in-the-moment coaching conversation, documented. If it continues, formal verbal warning. The trap is trading tenure or productivity for attendance policy; supervisors who do it lose the shop's respect. Also: talk to the tech about what's actually going on β€” sometimes it's a child-care problem you can help solve with a flex-time arrangement, sometimes it's just carelessness, sometimes it's a bigger issue. But the standard doesn't move.
Q5. Why do you want to move from tech into service management?closer
The honest answer: you like running the shop more than turning wrenches, you want ownership bigger than one bay, and you want a pipeline to Service Director and eventually Fixed Ops or GM. Show you understand the trade β€” service managers work more hours than techs, take the customer complaints, and give up the overtime and flat-rate upside that lets a top tech clear $110-140k. Naming a specific plan (moving through the dealer group's manager training program, targeting Service Director in 4-6 years) signals you've thought it through.

Resume Template β€” Lead Tech / Master Tech (0-4 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Lead Tech / Master Tech (0-4 yrs)
  • β–ΈASE Master Technician (8 tests) + Toyota T-TEN Master Diagnostic Technician. EPA 609 certified.
  • β–ΈLead tech on 6-bay drive-clean line at [Toyota dealership]; averaged 148% efficiency in FY24 on 42.8 flat-rate hours per week.
  • β–ΈOwned diagnostic escalations for the shop β€” root-caused 18 open technical hotlines to OEM engineering with 0 chargebacks.
  • β–ΈMentored 2 apprentices to ASE Certified Technician status in 18 months; both retained through year 2.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Cannot read the shop's efficiency, proficiency, and productivity report β€” a service manager who doesn't own the numbers is unhireable.
  • βœ—Warranty submission errors that trigger OEM chargebacks β€” every OEM audits, and chronic errors get shops flagged for tighter oversight.
  • βœ—Blowing state consumer-protection thresholds on estimate over-runs without customer re-authorization β€” fast path to state AG complaints and civil penalties.
  • βœ—Comeback rate chronically above 6% β€” signals diagnostic or QC discipline issues that trace to the supervisor.
  • βœ—Cannot recruit or retain techs β€” the tech shortage means every service manager is judged on their bench-strength.
  • βœ—Any pattern of favoritism in ticket allocation β€” techs will grieve or leave, and the fastest firing offense in dealership world is a foreman who feeds the profitable tickets to the same 2 buddies.
  • βœ—No specialty certification (ASE Master, EPA 608/609, FAA A&P, manufacturer master) β€” you can't credibly coach the crew without the credential.
  • βœ—Cannot use the shop management system (CDK, Reynolds, ServiceTitan, FieldEdge) β€” corporate hiring managers screen hard for it.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“ASE Master + manufacturer master + specialty certifications (transmission, driveability, hybrid/EV) β€” worth $8-15k on entry to Service Manager and $15-25k on entry to Service Director.
  • βœ“Bilingual (Spanish, especially in Sun Belt) β€” worth $2-5k in most operators and speeds up team-building with hourly techs.
  • βœ“Willingness to open a new store or run a struggling store β€” dealer groups pay signing bonuses of $10-40k and often a car allowance premium for a manager who takes on the harder assignment.
  • βœ“OEM factory-master or Master Guild certification (Ford SVT, Toyota Master Diagnostic, Honda Master, Chevy World Class, Cat CBT / Dealer Business Technology) β€” differentiator at the OEM's premium dealers.
  • βœ“Bonus structure β€” productivity bonus (5-15% of base) tied to efficiency %, CSI, comeback rate, and warranty recovery. Understand the payout curve and the weightings before signing.
  • βœ“Tool allowance / tool insurance β€” for supervisors moving from tech into management, negotiate an annual tool allowance ($1-3k) plus insurance on the personal tools remaining in the shop.
  • βœ“Metro adjustment β€” big-city (SF, NYC, LA, Boston, Chicago) dealership and MRO supervisor pay runs 20-40% above suburban and rural markets. Aircraft MRO in AK, PR, HI premium.
  • βœ“Career path clarity β€” negotiate a written 24-36 month path to Service Director if the role is Service Manager, with named KPIs to hit for the promotion review.

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First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$71K
$98Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Alaska
$98K
+23%
Washington
$94K
+18%
Connecticut
$94K
+18%
California
$94K
+17%
New Jersey
$93K
+16%
Massachusetts
$92K
+16%
New York
$91K
+14%
North Dakota
$91K
+13%
New Hampshire
$88K
+10%
Hawaii
$88K
+10%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Alaska$98,110+22.9%
Washington$94,420+18.2%
Connecticut$94,050+17.8%
California$93,660+17.3%
New Jersey$92,680+16.1%
Massachusetts$92,250+15.5%
New York$91,150+14.1%
North Dakota$90,600+13.4%
New Hampshire$87,560+9.6%
Hawaii$87,550+9.6%
1–10 of 51

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$120,040+50.3%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$104,070+30.3%
Vallejo, CA$102,840+28.8%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$102,360+28.2%
Napa, CA$99,460+24.5%
Kennewick-Richland, WA$98,640+23.5%
Fairbanks-College, AK$98,110+22.9%
Lexington Park, MD$98,020+22.7%
Anchorage, AK$97,830+22.5%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$97,560+22.2%
1–10 of 395
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers earning $79,860/year would need 746 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 801 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
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πŸ“ˆ See how first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers salary trend (2011–2024) β†’