Automotive schools are vocational training institutions that specialize in courses related to automotive technology. The specific curriculum varies rather widely from school to school, but generally you can specialize in the following areas

- Automotive Technology
- Automotive Diesel Industrial Technology
- Collision Repair and Finishing
- Industrial Diesel Technology
- Automotive Electronics
- Shop Management

All students are given a broad base education in the fundamentals of automotive technology regardless of their desired area of concentration. A good fundamental background is necessary to understand the basic role of each specialized vocation in the automotive industry.

Most automotive schools have a 2 year course that is broken in 3 or four sections that include the fundamentals, focus on an automotive specialty and a project that is not only related to the selected specialty, but also includes a major repair.

Since most automotive schools are private institutions they are not eligible for government grants and loans. There are scholarships available for the most deserving students and some schools fund work-study and internship programs to help the students fund the cost of the tuition. Special “Career Training” loans are also available for qualified students.

Tuition varies from school to school and program to program. If you are interested in a specialized 8-week workshop you should expect to pay around $4,000. A two year certificate program can cost as much as $30,000 not counting supplies and equipment charges. There are even automotive acting schools that charge by the unit (usually around $1000).