Automotive Mechanic
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Automotive Mechanic occupation series (code 5823): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Automotive Mechanic is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 1,079 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family. At an average salary of $81,292 it pays below the federal average, and headcount edged down from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -0.7%
- Pay change
- +0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 15.1 yrs
- Rank in family
- #3 of 5
FedScope read on Automotive Mechanic (dense series)
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Automotive Mechanic sits inside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family (code 58), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Automotive Mechanic postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family. The Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family totals 11,831 employees, and Automotive Mechanic accounts for 9.1% of them. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Automotive Mechanic pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$81,292
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-30.7%
Where Automotive Mechanic ranks on federal pay
Automotive Mechanic earns more on average than 38% of federal occupation series (203 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Automotive Mechanic sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Automotive Mechanic.
Related Occupations in Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misc Transportation/mobile Equipmt Maintne | 5,977 | $97,254 | 10.2 yrs |
| Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic | 4,639 | $94,068 | 13.9 yrs |
| Mobile Equipment Servicing | 95 | $57,358 | 6.9 yrs |
| Electromotive Equipment Mechanic | 41 | $89,407 | 15.3 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Automotive Mechanic outside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1,079 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($81,292 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Automotive Mechanic pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Automotive Mechanic postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.