5 Career Opportunities To Explore After Auto Detailing School
Auto detailing is more than just washing down vehicles. It is about thoroughly cleaning the interior and exterior of the vehicle, and applying wax and buff to increase protection and shine. Therefore, for people and businesses who want their vehicles to look pristine and remain well-maintained, getting them detailed is a great option. During auto detailing training, you will learn to clean a vehicle’s interior and exterior with great attention to detail, apply vehicle protection materials, and repair paint surfaces. The training is done primarily on a hands-on basis, meaning you learn the concept in the classroom, and then spend the majority of your training applying what you have learnt to perfect it.
These skills you learn during auto detailing school mean that afterwards, you will have several career options available. Due to the nature of auto detailing, you may prefer to detail new and used vehicles being prepared for the showroom or work at an auto body shop. You may prefer working with heavy-duty trucks where keeping a fleet clean is needed, or for those of you with an entrepreneurial spirit, you can start your own business. Whichever option you choose to pursue your career, your training has provided the highest quality practical knowledge on auto detailing you can earn.
Interested in learning about the career opportunities you have available after auto detailing school? Check out this infographic for all the details!
[Infographic] 5 Career Opportunities To Explore After Auto Detailing School
1. Work at an Auto Body Shop
Work in a shop dedicated to repairing and maintaining cars:
- Auto body shops repair exterior damage done to a vehicle, such as the front bumper or door damage.
- These cars, and specifically the parts replaced, need to be detailed before being returned to the customer.
- This is where you will apply your auto detailing training, to have the car looking as repaired and clean as possible.
- You’ll detail the interior by cleaning it thoroughly, removing previous smells, and helping it look as good as new.
- Exterior work will involve you applying wax and buff to protect the paint and keep the car looking clean, as well as applying rust-proofing materials to the vehicle.
- The work you put in as an employee at an auto body shop will have previously damaged vehicles looking shiny and new once again.
Working in an auto body shop, you’ll detail cars once they have been repaired to once again look as new as possible.
2. Start Your Own Auto Detailing Business
Starting your own auto detailing business is a wonderful opportunity:
- Starting your own auto detailing business presents the opportunity to work for yourself and provide opportunities to other auto detailers.
- If you want to start your own business, ensure you plan effectively to help the business succeed.
- You may struggle during the initial start-up phases until your business is well known, and to avoid this, effective marketing from the outset will be vital.
- You may choose to specialize in the vehicles that you work on, for example, you may work primarily on vintage cars or high-end luxury vehicles.
After auto detailing school, you have the opportunity to open your own business as an auto detailer and work on your own terms.
3. Work in Vehicle Dealerships
Vehicle dealerships consistently need auto detailing done:
- New and used auto dealerships require auto detailers to get the vehicles being sold looking clean and well-maintained and then keep them as such.
- In the case of a used vehicle dealership, the interior and exterior of the vehicle will need to be thoroughly detailed to prepare it for the showroom. Interior cleaning will need to have the car looking as new as possible while smelling like a new vehicle as well.
- Exterior cleaning will be focussed on buffing and waxing the vehicle to have it look shiny and clean for customers to see.
- These auto detailing efforts you put into these vehicles will help them sell faster and at a higher price, because they look in better condition than how they were bought.
- New vehicle dealerships require auto detailers to ensure that the vehicles maintain their cleanliness and appeal to customers. This means regularly washing and cleaning the vehicle, as well as applying buff and wax.
Vehicle dealerships need to sell cars, and as an auto detailer you’ll be tasked with making them look as new and shiny as possible.
4. Heavy-Duty Trucks in a Fleet Need Auto Detailing
Heavy duty trucks need auto detailing too:
- Heavy-duty trucks are utilized daily for long-distance driving, with drivers in some instances, living in the trucks.
- This means that the trucks require regular detailing to be cleaned and maintained. You will need to remove smells on the inside, and dirt on the outside.
- Due to their size, they will take longer to clean than a regular vehicle, however, the cleaning materials and principles used will remain largely similar.
- Working for a company with a fleet of heavy-duty trucks and other logistics vehicles will ensure that you are kept busy at all times.
Heavy-duty trucks get dirty over long-distance trips and with drivers living in them. Auto detailing will help them look as new and fresh as often as possible.
5. Custom Specialty Shops Are a Career to Explore
Apply the highest quality products and techniques in specialty shops:
- Custom specialty shops focus on specific aspects of auto body repair and detailing.
- This means that you will be working with specific aspects of auto detailing, such as exterior cleaning, paint maintenance techniques, and rust prevention techniques.
- These shops may also offer custom paint jobs, and it will be your responsibility to apply the right waxing, buffing, and polishing techniques to prevent damage to the paint job, and keep it looking pristine for longer.
Specializing in a specific auto detailing role means you’ll fully understand your role and can apply it perfectly to every vehicle that comes into the specialist shop.
Sources:
https://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/occupations-in-alberta/occupation-profiles/auto-detailer/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-become-car-detailer
https://driving-tests.org/beginner-drivers/how-to-wax-your-car/
https://www.fortador-usa.com/blog/car-interior-cleaning-complete-guide
