El Paso Community College

Diesel Mechanic Technology  

The Diesel Mechanic Technology program offered at El Paso Community College is designed to provide individuals who are interested in career training in the diesel technician job field, but lack the time and resources required by commercial schools. Students enrolled in the program will obtain the comprehensive knowledge and specialized training necessary for entry-level employment in the diesel equipment repair field, servicing, maintaining, and repairing medium and heavy duty trucks. Students are trained on the latest technologies, learning the most up-to-date techniques used by professional diesel technicians in the industry today.

Students receive classroom instruction, including lectures, discussions, learning materials, and written assignments about diesel theory and its applications as it pertains to real-world job experience in the diesel technology career field. Students develop important analytical, technical, and problem-solving skills, while strengthening their English comprehension, mathematical computation, and job-relevant computer skills. Students learn career-focused topics such as how to write service records, how to manage a shop effectively, customer service protocol, OSHA safety regulations, U.S. and metric measurement systems, and more.

In the job-simulated training facility, students receive carefully guided instruction as they learn, hands-on, how to diagnose, service, and repair modern diesel engines, power trains, frames, steering systems, suspension systems, fuel systems, truck electrical systems, truck electronic systems, hydraulic systems, brake systems, and truck heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Auto body welding, preventive maintenance and inspection techniques, and frame and trailer maintenance are also taught.

By disassembling, inspecting, diagnosing, repairing, and reassembling various diesel engines and their complex auxiliary sub-systems using digital diagnostic machines, circuit diagrams, electronic multi-meters, schematics, pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, pneumatic wrenches, lathes, and lab scopes, students learn the detailed process of diesel engine overhaul and diesel engine tune-up. 

Students also learn how to manage their time wisely and work together as a team, as they work independently and in groups to complete each and every task assigned to them by their instructors in a proficient, thorough, and timely manner. Shop safety, ethics, and professionalism are also stressed throughout the Diesel Mechanic Technology program offered at El Paso Community College. 

Employment Opportunities

Students who finish the Diesel Mechanic Technology program at El Paso Community College will be equipped with the job-ready skills needed to obtain entry-level employment as a qualified diesel mechanic. Occupational opportunities include working for local employers such as Jobe Concrete, RGB, Southwest Freightliners, Groendyke Transport, and more.

As the diesel industry continues to grow rapidly, job opportunities for qualified diesel mechanics is expected to increase 11% by the year 2020, as fast as average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean annual wage for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists working in the United States in 2014 was $45,160, while the mean salary for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists employed in the state of Texas was $43,720 yearly and $21.02 hourly, just 3% lower than the national average.

The Two-Year Undergraduate Certificate

El Paso Community College offers a two-year Undergraduate Certificate in Diesel Mechanic Technology. This program is Pell Grant eligible.