Also, I might argue if you have talent with programming, and already a mechanic, the better trajectory might be specializing in automotive electronics repair. I keep hearing about the parts costs to replace electronics in cars, and that's only going to get more and more expensive, and often a bench repair might be replacing a blown capacitor (after drilling through the epoxy). If you can get good at troubleshooting electronic problems with cars, and can save people from having to buy entire new replacement boards, you can capture some of that savings.