Career and specialisms as auto painter
From journeyman certificate to workshop manager, teaching and self-employed
When you have the journeyman's certificate as an auto painter you have a sought-after and practical education in hand. The trade exists everywhere vehicles need repair or surface treatment and from basic training you can develop in many directions.
§The damage workshop — the heart of the trade
Most car painters work in damage and paint shops where they repair cars after accidents, stone chipping, rust and wear. Here the painter often works closely with the sheet metal worker or body technician who straightens the metal before the painter recreates the surface. It is a trade with great variation: no two damages are the same.
§Industry, special and restoration
- 01Painting of trucks, buses, construction machinery and other equipment
- 02Industrial surface treatment of metal parts and products
- 03Restoration and finishing of vintage cars and motorcycles
- 04Special tasks with effect paint, films, and decoration
- 05Work at importers and suppliers with paint and products
§Towards more responsibility
With experience you can take more responsibility in the workshop — as an experienced journeyman who trains apprentices as a foreman or workshop manager with responsibility for planning quality and customers. Some choose to further educate themselves in management quality control or the environment and others become vocational teachers at technical schools and pass on the craft.
§Own business.
With the journeyman's certificate and several years' experience you can establish your own paint workshop. That requires — besides professional skill — understanding of economics customer service environmental regulations and management. Many start as employees build a network and a good reputation and then jump out as self-employed.
§A trade in change
The craft develops all the time: new paint technologies, more environmentally friendly products, new materials in cars, and more automation. It means an auto painter never completely stops learning. Those who follow along, maintain their qualifications, and stay current have a craft that's both secure and full of opportunities.