09/30/2026
By Doug Irish - Department Chair Collision Repair & Refinish Technology
Why Collision Repair May Be One of the Smartest Career Choices in the Age of AI
I have spent most of my adult life in the automotive and collision repair industry. Over the years I have worked as a technician, manager, business owner, insurance professional, consultant, instructor and now as a department chair helping prepare the next generation of collision repair professionals. During that time, I have watched this industry change dramatically. Vehicles have changed, repair methods have changed, materials have changed, and the tools and technology we use today would have been almost unimaginable when many of us first entered the trade.
Now we are entering another major transformation: artificial intelligence.
There is a great deal of discussion about what AI will mean for the future workforce. Some of the predictions are probably exaggerated, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: artificial intelligence is going to change a tremendous number of jobs. What may surprise many parents and students is that some of the occupations most exposed to AI are not traditionally considered blue-collar jobs. They are administrative, professional and office-based positions involving writing, data analysis, accounting, customer service, research, programming, document preparation and other work that primarily exists on a computer screen.
That should cause us to reconsider something we have been telling young people for decades. The traditional message has been simple: graduate from high school, go to a four-year college, earn a degree and then find a good job. There is nothing wrong with that path, and for many students it remains exactly the right choice. But it is no longer the only path to a successful career, and in an economy increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence, it may not always be the safest one either.
Collision repair is a good example of why.
Artificial intelligence is already making its way into our industry. It can assist with estimating, analyze photographs, locate repair information, interpret diagnostic information and help improve workflow and documentation. I expect those capabilities to become much more sophisticated in the coming years, and in many cases that will be a good thing. Technology has always changed the collision industry, from computerized estimating and electronic measuring to scan tools, advanced refinish systems and ADAS calibration.
But there is an enormous difference between helping determine how a vehicle should be repaired and actually repairing it.
Every collision is different. Two identical vehicles involved in apparently similar accidents can have completely different damage patterns. A technician may begin disassembly expecting one repair and discover hidden structural damage, a previous repair, corrosion, a damaged wiring harness or a component that failed in a way no photograph revealed. At that point, someone has to inspect the vehicle, understand what happened, determine the correct repair process and physically perform the work.
That may mean measuring a structure, pulling and straightening damaged components, removing and replacing welded panels, performing sectioning procedures, repairing plastics, welding aluminum or steel, restoring corrosion protection, refinishing the vehicle, diagnosing electrical systems, calibrating cameras and radar sensors and verifying that the vehicle has been returned to a safe and proper condition.
AI can assist with many of those decisions, but it cannot simply sit behind a computer and perform the repair.
That distinction matters.
Collision repair does not take place in a perfectly controlled manufacturing environment. It takes place in a shop where every vehicle presents a slightly different problem. The technician must combine knowledge, experience, judgment, dexterity and physical skill. That combination makes collision repair considerably more difficult to automate than work performed almost entirely in the digital world.
The public perception of collision repair also needs to change. Too many people still picture the occupation as someone with a hammer and dolly straightening a fender. While craftsmanship remains important, modern collision repair has become a highly technical profession.
Today's vehicles may contain multiple grades of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel, aluminum, composites, structural adhesives and advanced coatings. Electronic systems are integrated throughout the vehicle. Advanced driver-assistance systems rely on cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors and computer modules. Electric and hybrid vehicles bring high-voltage systems into the repair environment. Repairing these vehicles properly can require knowledge of metallurgy, welding, structural measurement, electronics, diagnostics, corrosion protection, refinishing chemistry and manufacturer-specific procedures.
That is not unskilled labor. It is highly technical work, and it continues to become more technical every year.
In fact, the future collision technician may be in one of the better positions in an AI-driven economy because that technician can use artificial intelligence without being replaced by it. AI may help locate an OEM repair procedure, identify the material being repaired, flag a one-time-use fastener, interpret scan data, suggest diagnostic paths or assist in documenting a repair. The technician who understands how to use those tools while also possessing the physical skills to perform the repair may become more valuable, not less.
The same principle applies throughout the automotive field. Modern service technicians are working on vehicles that are essentially rolling computer networks. They diagnose CAN communication systems, electronically controlled steering and braking systems, hybrid technology, high-voltage electric vehicles and increasingly complex electrical faults. AI will almost certainly become a useful diagnostic assistant, but when the diagnosis identifies a damaged wiring harness buried inside a vehicle, a failed suspension component or an intermittent electrical problem, someone still has to physically locate and repair it.
And automotive is not alone.
Electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, welders, machinists and industrial maintenance technicians share the same basic advantage. Artificial intelligence may help them interpret technical information, troubleshoot problems and make better decisions, but the work itself still exists in the physical world. Someone has to wire the building, repair the refrigeration system, replace the broken pipe, weld the structure, machine the part or repair the production equipment.
That is why I believe we need to rethink the way technical education is presented to high school students.
Too often we still hear some version of, "If college isn't for you, maybe you should consider a trade." I have always believed that sends the wrong message. Technical education should be presented alongside the traditional university path from the beginning, not as a fallback for students who supposedly are not "college material."
Students in modern collision repair programs are learning electrical theory, structural repair, metallurgy, welding, refinishing chemistry, diagnostics, computer systems and advanced vehicle technology. Students in electrical, HVAC, machining and industrial maintenance programs are receiving equally sophisticated technical instruction. They are being educated. Their classroom simply includes a laboratory or a shop.
Families should also consider the economics. A four-year degree can be an excellent investment when the career requires one, but students should look honestly at how much that degree will cost, how much debt they may carry, how quickly they will enter the workforce and how much demand will exist for the job they are preparing to perform.
A student completing a two-year technical program may enter full-time employment roughly two years before someone pursuing a bachelor's degree. During that time, the technical graduate may already be earning a paycheck, gaining experience, receiving employer-paid training, earning industry certifications and beginning to move into higher levels of responsibility.
That head start matters.
It is also important to understand that entering a trade does not mean someone will perform the same job for the rest of their life. Collision repair provides a perfect example. A student might begin as a repair technician and eventually move into structural repair, refinishing, aluminum repair, diagnostics, ADAS calibration, estimating, production management, shop management, insurance, training, equipment sales, OEM support, consulting, education or business ownership.
Many people in senior positions throughout the automotive industry started with a toolbox.
Technical education does not necessarily put a ceiling on someone's career. In many cases, it creates the foundation upon which the rest of that career is built.
For parents and educators, I think the larger issue is that we need to prepare young people for the economy they are actually going to enter, not the one we remember. Artificial intelligence can already write reports, analyze information, generate computer code, produce graphics, summarize documents and perform tasks that only a few years ago required substantial human effort.
That does not mean office jobs are disappearing or that four-year degrees no longer have value. It does mean students should think carefully about what they are preparing to do and how easily technology may be able to perform a significant portion of that work in the future.
Perhaps we need to stop asking every high school senior, "Where are you going to college?"
A better question might be, "What valuable skill are you going to learn?"
For some students, that skill will absolutely be developed at a four-year university. For others, it may be learned in an automotive lab, a collision shop, a welding booth, an electrical program or an apprenticeship.
The future workforce will not simply be divided between people who use technology and people who work with their hands. The most valuable skilled professionals may be those who can do both.
The collision technician who understands structural repair, electronics, ADAS and artificial intelligence. The service technician who combines diagnostic technology with mechanical ability. The electrician who understands computerized controls. The industrial technician who knows how to repair the robot everyone else assumes will replace the worker.
Those are not careers from the past.
They are careers for the future.
Vehicles will still get damaged. Equipment will still fail. Buildings will still need electricity. Heating and cooling systems will still break. Infrastructure will still need to be built and repaired.
Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly become one of the most powerful tools we have ever created.
But someone will still have to know how to use their head, use their hands and actually do the work.
For many high school students deciding what comes next, that may make technical education one of the smartest places to start.
