Best programs to become an automotive service technician in South Dakota
4 South Dakota schools offer programs that train automotive service technicians and mechanics, graduating 61 people a year. Automotive service technicians and mechanics in South Dakota earn a median of $51,160 across about 2,010 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become an automotive service technician. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in South Dakota is Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education.
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive.
1 program in South Dakota that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in South Dakota (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 South Dakota page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 47.0604In South Dakota → | 61 | 100.0% | 4 | $37,089 | $11,790 |
Top 4 schools in South Dakota
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 4 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Area Technical College Watertown, SD Public · 1 feeder program | 25 | Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician | $47,080 | 73% | — | — |
| 2 | Southeast Technical College Sioux Falls, SD Public · 1 feeder program | 19 | Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician | $46,262 | 59% | — | — |
| 3 | Western Dakota Technical College Rapid City, SD Public · 1 feeder program | 15 | Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician | $38,031 | 54% | — | — |
| 4 | Oglala Lakota College Kyle, SD Public · 1 feeder program | 2 | Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician | — | 9% | — | — |
All 4 schools in South Dakota
Every school in South Dakota 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Area Technical College | Watertown | Public | 25 | 1 |
| Southeast Technical College | Sioux Falls | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Western Dakota Technical College | Rapid City | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Oglala Lakota College | Kyle | Public | 2 | 1 |
Fields of study in South Dakota that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What automotive service technicians and mechanics earn in South Dakota
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $50,620. South Dakota pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in South Dakota
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 Service Technicians and Mechanics page.
How to become an automotive service technician
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Short-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 South Dakota
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0803Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician
- 15.0807Motorsports Engineering Technology/Technician
- 47.0600Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technology/Technician, General
- 47.0604Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician
- 47.0612Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Technology/Technician
- 47.0613Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician
- 47.0614Alternative Fuel Vehicle Technology/Technician
- 47.0617High Performance and Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic
Common questions
Answers for people weighing automotive service technicians and mechanics programs in South Dakota.
What degree do you need to become an automotive service technician?+
You do not need a college degree to become an automotive service technician. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in South Dakota is Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education.
Which college majors lead to becoming an automotive service technician?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in South Dakota is Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 61 people a year in South Dakota (IPEDS completions).
How much do automotive service technicians and mechanics earn in South Dakota?+
The median is $51,160 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.1% above the U.S. median of $50,620. 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 service technicians and mechanics growing?+
BLS projects a +4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 70,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in South Dakota?+
4 institutions in South Dakota 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 service technicians and mechanics work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Mechanic, Automotive Technician (Auto Tech), Service Technician (Service Tech), Automotive Mechanic (Auto Mechanic) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3023.
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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