Automotive salary tools can help professionals know what type of earnings they should be making in their specific field. Auto industry salaries have a broad range, since positions vary and can include anything from a mechanic to a heavy assembler.

Automotive salary tools news and trends can give you updates on market changes that can affect how much you earn. Stay abreast of trends as well in order to find out about layoffs, market surges and other relevant information about automotive industry pay.

1. Look at automotive salaries. Auto salary tools can let you know the low, medium and high ranges for your position.

2. Read articles about automotive salary news. Connect with others to find out any salary changes in the industry that you need to be aware of.

3. Make considerations when using auto salary tools. Experience level and other factors can change you data when utilizing these online calculations.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use an automotive pay wizard

Salary wizards will use information, like your position and location to determine the range that you should be earning. Salary trends change often, so you should use the tool every few months to see about any adjustments.

I recommend: Salary.com has many helpful resources for those looking into auto industry salaries. Each position is broken down into different levels and includes information on benefits and bonuses received. Select the “Personnel” option from Body Shop Business to view a PDF file with average pay and benefits information.

Stay current with auto industry salaries news

You will want to look for the most current information on auto industry wages. You can find online sites that give you access to news, surveys and other helpful information on automotive salaries.

I recommend: Vault sorts their auto salary surveys by most current, so you can find the latest information quickly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will be your most accurate source for information on auto salaries. You can also use their source page to find more information on automotive salary tools news and trends.

Explore different effects on automotive industry salary

Although salary wizards can give you an average range of car industry salaries, you will want to find sources that will provide you with more information than just average statistics. Experience levels can have a strong effect on the earnings reported through auto salary tools.

I recommend: Auto Careers Today is a helpful resource to anyone who is part of the automotive industry. Use the explore section of the website to look at careers in the field as well as salary information. Motorsports Employment allows you to choose your level of expertise when using their salary tools to determine the wages currently made by others in your field.

Salaries in the automotive industry can vary and aside from the base pay, you'll also want to consider other forms of payment such as bonuses, 401K options and employee discounts. All of these work hand in hand to create the overall compensation you offer to your employees.

Prior to automotive salaries tools, auto industry wages were separate from the other benefits and not considered a part of an employee's total compensation package. By utilizing automotive salary tools, you can determine exactly how much total compensation you're offering each employee. Some of the things you want to look for are highlighted below.

1. The various features of the auto industry salaries tool

2. The ease with which the program will work with existing office programs

3. The amount of online support offered with the program

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Select the program that reflects automotive industry compensation

Search for a comprehensive tool that includes automotive salaries guides and allows for incentive programs and other benefits to be compiled into a total compensation package. In addition to the total compensation, you also want to look for a tool that allows you to save your individual searches and also allows you to search various geographical areas. This could prove vital when hiring someone from another location in determining what to offer.

I recommend: Automotive industry pay tools such as Vault allow you to customize your membership level while accessing job surveys and automotive pay scales by location or by dealership while Actek Inc. lets you customize details like commission plans.

Choose an automotive industry salaries tool that is compatible with the programs you currently use

While you may find tools that offer you all sorts of fun and fancy gadgets, if it doesn't work with the office systems you currently run, it isn't likely to be beneficial to you or your employees. Instead, search out a program that works with your computer systems and office programs to make the transition a natural one rather than a nightmare.

I recommend: AutomotiveProfit.com and Vue Software both work with the Microsoft Office products you're most likely currently running. A fully integrated system will make it easier for everyone to learn to use the new program and insure it won't detract from that which you're familiar with now.

Look for an automotive industry pay tool that offers superior online support

Find the auto industry salaries tool that comes with the most online support. More than just the standard FAQ's, find one that meets your needs by offering online training, free tutorials or free conference calls for your staff to participate in.

I recommend: Consider Economic Research Institute's wide array of online training and technical support. It'll help you and your staff make the best decisions regarding your automotive industry salaries while providing you the online resources you need to succeed. HiringWinners also offers online classes to help you succeed.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before committing to an automotive salary tool, consider a free trial period during which you can use part or all of the program to determine if it fits your particular needs.

Automotive industry salaries must be competitive enough to attract the most talented employees, without straining the company's budget. Auto industry wages should be based on overall salaries in the automotive industry, typical salaries at companies the same size and / or offering the same services, and the cost of living in that region. They must also take into account the employee's experience and job duties.

This is a lot to consider, but there are several tools to help quickly and efficiently determine appropriate auto industry salaries, whether it's for one employee or 100. Automotive salary tools types and styles include:

1. Online salary calculator
2. Customized automotive industry salary reports
3. Salary and compensation software

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use online calculators to find the typical automotive industry pay

Online salary calculators are free, and offer an introductory look at automotive industry compensation, based on factors like job title, geographic location and size of company. They're ideal for basic salary research or if you're new to determining salaries, and can be supplemented by more advanced tools as needed.

I recommend: Salary.com's Salary Wizard provides salary information based on job title, geographic location and number of employees at the company. Job board CareerBuilder offers a free online calculator based on job title, and offering average salaries nationally and in a specific state or city.

Purchase customized automotive career salary reports tailored to your company

Looking at average pay within the industry or at similar companies can help you get started, but a customized report takes into account your company's situation--including its size, services or products offered and location. These reports also consider each employee's job duties, so you can create automobile industry salaries appropriate for both your company and the employee.

I recommend: PayScale offers two custom salary and compensation reports: MarketRate and Insight. MarketRate offers current market data based on job description, and on employee attributes such as experience, education and certifications. Insight offers the same features as MarketRate, plus benchmarking and other advanced features. Salaries Review offers salary reports for 4,000 positions and 6,000 cities.

Use software to help you create and track car industry salaries

Compensation software is an auto industry salary tool you can access any time. Whether you're hiring a new employee, reevaluating a current employee's salary, or rethinking your entire pay structure, you already have the tools you need, and don't have to wait on custom salary reports or hire a professional. This provides greater flexibility, so you can adjust employee salaries as conditions--internal or external--change.

I recommend: The Economic Research Institute offers its Salary Assessor software, which reports the most current data on wage, salary and incentives. The software is available in two editions: Professional, for non-management salary planning; and Consultant, for executive salaries, and for compliance and litigation. At AutomotiveProfit.com, download a free Excel spreadsheet designed to help you calculate sales commissions and bonuses. The program integrates into your existing system.

Learning how to determine automotive employee base salaries, compensation and benefit rates can be a difficult thing to do for any business owner, no matter the size of the business. Thankfully, working with automotive salary tools such as salary ratings, reports and software programs will help take the stress out of this task. There are key terms used for each of these programs that describe functionality. Learn the key terms for automotive salary tools to find the salary tool that meets the needs of your business so that you can get the job done efficiently and correctly.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Online salary calculator

An online salary calculator is a great way to determine automotive employee salary ranges. Type in the name of the automotive position and any other information that is required and the online salary calculator will give a listing of salaries. Some online salary calculators use information including years of experience and location to determine employee salary information.

I recommend: Use the free online salary calculator at CareerBuilder.com as an automotive salary tool.

Industry specific salary reports

Most employers don't have the time to create salary reports for all of their staff, but thankfully there are businesses that will generate these reports for you. Once job positions and other information has been entered, industry specific salary reports can generate analyses about automotive positions including job descriptions, total annual direct compensations and demographic estimates.

I recommend: Read the information about how to use the automotive industry salary reports featured at Economic Research Institute.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

The occupational Outlook Handbook was created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and includes statistical information about earnings of automotive employees. Employers can take this information and apply it when determining employee salary ranges.

I recommend: Read the Occupational Outlook Handbook at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find automotive salary information.

Salary wizard

A salary wizard is an online tool that can generate analysis about base salary, bonuses, benefits and pay checks for employees. Automotive employers simply need to enter the name of the positions and receive a full statistical report.

I recommend: Use the salary wizard at Salary.com to help determine automotive salaries for your employees.

Salary and compensation software

There are many types of salary and compensation software programs available that automotive employers can use as salary tools. These types of software programs can generate reports for thousands of different job positions including those in the automotive industry, as well as manage compensation benefits and performance strategies.

I recommend: Read the information about the salary and compensation software program to help employers determine automotive pay scales at SalaryExpert.

Profession-specific salary surveys

Profession-specific salary surveys offer those in the automotive industry the ability to rate and compare salary information for more than one type of position. This type of salary tool is essential for automotive dealerships and others who have many employees and need to have comparative information about hourly rates, bonuses and vacations.

I recommend: Use profession-specific salary surveys at PayScale to determine salaries for your automotive employees.