Best programs to become an automotive glass installer in California
22 California schools offer programs that train automotive glass installers and repairers, graduating 406 people a year. Automotive glass installers and repairers in California earn a median of $47,710 across about 2,200 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become an automotive glass installer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in California is Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Replace or repair broken windshields and window glass in motor.
1 program in California that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 47.0603In California → | 406 | 100.0% | 22 | $37,089 | $11,790 |
Top 22 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 22 schools in this state.
All 22 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Technical Institute - Southern California | Long Beach | Private for-profit | 65 | 1 |
| Compton College | Compton | Public | 41 | 1 |
| Cypress College | Cypress | Public | 35 | 1 |
| Modesto Junior College | Modesto | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Oxnard College | Oxnard | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Riverside City College | Riverside | Public | 21 | 1 |
| El Camino Community College District | Torrance | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Trade Technical College | Los Angeles | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Antelope Valley Community College District | Lancaster | Public | 16 | 1 |
| College of Alameda | Alameda | Public | 13 | 1 |
| San Joaquin Delta College | Stockton | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Contra Costa College | San Pablo | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 10 | 1 |
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What automotive glass installers and repairers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $47,630. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers page.
How to become an automotive glass installer
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Automotive Glass Installers and Repairers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 47.0603Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing automotive glass installers and repairers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become an automotive glass installer?+
You do not need a college degree to become an automotive glass installer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in California is Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Which college majors lead to becoming an automotive glass installer?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in California is Autobody/Collision and Repair Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 406 people a year in California (IPEDS completions).
How much do automotive glass installers and repairers earn in California?+
The median is $47,710 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.2% above the U.S. median of $47,630. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for automotive glass installers and repairers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
22 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do automotive glass installers and repairers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Glass Technician, Glass Installer Technician, Automotive Glass Installer (Auto Glass Installer), Automotive Glass Technician (Auto Glass Technician) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3022.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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