A tire technician removes, balances, rotates and repairs the tires on cars and light trucks.
Federal labor statistics code the work as tire repairers and changers (SOC 49-3093), and the titles workers report under that code — per O*NET — include Tire Technician, Alignment Technician and Lube Technician.
This guide covers the daily work, the employers behind the 108,410 jobs BLS counts, entry requirements, pay and the road from tire work toward alignment and mechanic roles.
What does a tire tech do?
O*NET keeps the task list for this work under the title Tire Repairers and Changers, SOC 49-3093.
The tasks it reports read like a shift in the tire bay.
- Unbolt and remove wheels from vehicles, using lug wrenches or other hand or power tools.
- Balance wheels.
- Identify tire size and ply and inflate tires accordingly.
- Raise vehicles with hydraulic jacks.
- Patch and plug punctures.
- Rotate tires.
The titles workers report under that code include Tire Technician, Alignment Technician and Lube Technician, so a posting under any one of those titles can sit over tire, alignment or lube-style work.
It is physical work with steady conditions to plan for: in O*NET's survey, 95% of tire repairers and changers work indoors in non-climate-controlled conditions every day, 53% stand continually or almost continually, and 60% report exposure to minor burns, cuts or stings every day.
Protective equipment is part of the uniform: 94% wear common protective or safety equipment, such as safety shoes, glasses and gloves, every day.
On hours in the same survey, 44% of tire repairers and changers report working more than 40 hours a week, and 52% report 40 hours.
There is a heavy side to the trade too.
OSHA's rim-wheel servicing standard applies to large vehicles such as trucks, tractors, trailers, buses and off-road machines, and it does not apply to automobiles or to pickups and vans using automobile or "LT" tires.
Commercial and over-the-road tire work is a separate track from the light-duty focus of this guide, and the alignment-and-mechanic section below points to where it leads.
Where tire techs work
BLS's OEWS survey counted 108,410 tire repairers and changers nationally in May 2025, a wage-and-salary count that leaves out the self-employed.
Of those, 76,750 worked at automotive parts, accessories and tire retailers — the tire-store side of the market.
The remaining national count sits in other industries; the retail row is the industry breakout this page's research captured.
Bridgestone Retail Operations, the company behind Firestone Complete Auto Care, says it operates the world's largest chain of company-owned auto care and tire stores, with four retail brands and 2,200 stores nationwide.
Les Schwab lists Tire Technician and Brake & Alignment Technician as entry positions at its tire centers, offers a profit-sharing bonus and a company-funded retirement plan, and says its tire centers only promote from within.
Discount Tire says 100% of its store managers are promoted from within, with "no exceptions," and Mavis keeps part-time jobs open to students enrolled in automotive technical training programs.
Employer context worth knowing as you compare settings: in BLS's 2024 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, tire dealers recorded 5.1 total recordable cases per 100 full-time workers, 3.8 of them involving days away, job restriction or transfer.
That is more than double the 1.9 rate BLS reports for automotive repair and maintenance shops and the 2.3 private-industry rate — and the number covers everyone working at tire dealers, not tire technicians alone.
The same survey puts automotive parts, accessories and tire stores overall at 3.5, with new car dealers at 2.7 and used car dealers at 1.2.
Requirements
Entry runs through the employer: Les Schwab lists Tire Technician among the entry positions at its tire centers, and Mavis offers part-time jobs to students still enrolled in automotive technical training programs.
For the broader technician occupation this job feeds — automotive service technicians and mechanics, SOC 49-3023 — BLS lists typical entry as a postsecondary nondegree award, no related work experience required and short-term on-the-job training.
BLS adds that some technicians enter with a high school diploma and learn on the job, and that workers who skip a formal program usually need longer on-the-job training and may start as trainee technicians, technicians' helpers or lubrication workers.
Apprenticeship is a documented route too: BLS notes some technicians complete an apprenticeship, which usually combines paid on-the-job training with technical instruction.
On certification for that broader occupation, BLS says employers may require or prefer that technicians become certified, some pay for certifications, and becoming certified typically takes previous experience plus a passed exam.
ASE, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, describes its certification as voluntary.
Federal rules touch the trade narrowly, and scope matters.
OSHA's rim-wheel servicing standard (29 CFR 1910.177) covers multi-piece and single-piece rim wheels on large vehicles such as trucks, tractors, trailers, buses and off-road machines, and does not extend to automobiles or pickups and vans on automobile or "LT" tires.
Inside that scope, the standard requires employers to train every employee who services rim wheels, and no one may service a rim wheel until trained in the correct procedures for that wheel type.
Confirm before you count on a requirement
How much tire techs make
BLS's OEWS survey has an exact occupation code for this work, so the benchmark needs no proxy.
In May 2025, tire repairers and changers (SOC 49-3093) earned a median of $37,710 a year, or $18.13 an hour.
The middle half earned between $34,690 and $45,300, the 10th percentile earned $30,010 and the 90th earned $50,230; the mean was $40,170, or $19.31 an hour.
These OEWS figures cover wage-and-salary jobs and wages only — no tips, flat-rate bonus detail or benefits.
BLS publishes no wage breakdown by vehicle brand, and what a chain, a dealership or an independent shop pays is whatever its own postings and pay plans say.
The narrowest published cut for franchised-dealer technicians is the automobile-dealers industry row, where automotive service technicians and mechanics (49-3023, the broader occupation this job feeds) earned a May 2025 median of $59,920, or $28.81 an hour, across 264,130 jobs.
Tire tech to alignment and mechanic
The next bay over is the natural direction.
O*NET already reports Alignment Technician as a title inside the tire occupation, and Les Schwab pairs the skills at entry with its Brake & Alignment Technician position.
On the mechanic side, BLS describes front-end technicians as the specialists who diagnose ride, handling and tire-wear problems using alignment equipment and wheel-balancing machines — machines a tire bay already runs for wheel balancing.
Moving into general repair work follows the entry routes BLS describes for the 49-3023 occupation: workers without a formal program may start as trainee technicians, technicians' helpers or lubrication workers, learning gradually from experienced technicians.
The tire bay's core tasks already sit on the general technician's duty list: BLS's basic maintenance list includes oil, fluids and tire rotation.
The rest of that list reaches diagnosing problems, often with computerized diagnostic equipment, and repairing or replacing worn parts such as brake pads, wheel bearings and sensors.
Certification sits in the middle of that move: employers may require or prefer it, some pay for it, and becoming certified typically takes previous experience plus a passed exam.
ASE describes its certification as voluntary.
If the job widens into air-conditioning service, a federal rule applies.
Anyone who repairs or services a motor vehicle A/C system for payment or bartering must be trained and certified by an EPA-approved Section 609 program; BLS frames it as certification for technicians who buy or work with refrigerants.
Advancement also runs through the store at the chains that spell it out: Discount Tire says 100% of its store managers are promoted from within, with "no exceptions," and Les Schwab says its tire centers only promote from within.
And if the heavy side pulls at you, commercial truck and over-the-road tire work is its own track — covered by OSHA's rim-wheel standard and sitting next to diesel and heavy-truck service, which our sister board DieselHires covers.
Find tire technician jobs
Postings for this work appear under more than one name — tire technician and alignment technician are both titles workers report inside the tire occupation — so search across the variants when you look.
When you are ready, browse tire technician jobs on AutoTechHires and filter by pay, benefits and schedule.
Career information, not legal, licensing or safety advice: hiring requirements are each employer's own, and workplace rules come from OSHA and the state agencies that cover a shop — confirm with the employer and the agency named.