Home › Illinois › Diesel Mechanics schools
40 schools in Illinois offer diesel mechanics-related programs, compared below on official cost, completion, and earnings data. Prefer to earn while you learn? 14 registered apprenticeship programs in Illinois train diesel mechanics apprentices — see apprenticeships. Federal program data groups diesel mechanics with automotive technology and aviation maintenance — schools below may offer any of these.
Occupation pay is what working diesel mechanics professionals in Illinois earn (all experience levels) — school "earnings" figures above are medians for each school's recent federally-aided students across all its programs, which read lower.
Illinois does not license diesel mechanics — no mechanic or automotive technician profession appears on IDFPR's alphabetical list of regulated professions. In Chicago, repair businesses need a city Motor Vehicle Services (repair) business license, but individual techs do not. Voluntary ASE Medium-Heavy Truck (T-series) certification is the credential employers expect.
Official source: No licensing board; Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) list confirms mechanics are unregulated · Exam: None required by the state. Voluntary ASE T-series exams; EPA 609 (federal) for A/C work. · Typical requirement: None set by the state. Chicago requires a business license for repair shops (Motor Vehicle Services — Repair), but that sits on the shop, not the mechanic. ASE T-series requires 2 years of experience (training substitutes for up to 1 year).
| School | City | Type | Net price / yr | Completion | Earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | public | $1,672 | 20.4% | $42,889 |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | public | $2,232 | 37.2% | $40,810 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | public | $2,254 | 55% | $38,877 |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | public | $2,829 | 29.6% | $43,892 |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | public | $3,349 | 50% | $37,724 |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | public | $3,741 | 31.3% | $38,793 |
| Triton College | River Grove | public | $4,138 | 18.5% | $41,728 |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | public | $3,662 | 51.5% | $35,274 |
| Oakton College | Des Plaines | public | $5,183 | 16% | $47,852 |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | public | $4,299 | 39.4% | $38,479 |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | public | $4,574 | 36.6% | $39,657 |
| Kankakee Community College | Kankakee | public | $4,665 | 33.6% | $38,767 |
| Morton College | Cicero | public | $5,191 | 26.2% | $42,406 |
| Shawnee Community College | Ullin | public | $4,162 | 42.1% | $32,999 |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | public | $4,738 | 20.4% | $36,696 |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | public | $6,026 | 32.5% | $45,516 |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | public | $5,242 | 32.4% | $39,158 |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | public | $4,777 | 35.2% | $34,867 |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | public | $5,713 | 36.6% | $37,928 |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | public | $7,042 | 36.4% | $45,143 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | public | $7,401 | 24.7% | $46,909 |
| John A Logan College | Carterville | public | $5,541 | 31.7% | $34,096 |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | public | $6,477 | 39.1% | $38,801 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | public | $7,607 | 34.1% | $43,424 |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | public | $7,050 | 42.1% | $38,631 |
| Black Hawk College | Moline | public | $6,944 | 31.7% | $37,253 |
| Parkland College | Champaign | public | $8,048 | 29.5% | $38,320 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College | Chicago | public | $7,863 | 23.8% | $36,484 |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | public | $11,442 | 32.2% | $44,788 |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | public | $9,187 | 55.8% | $35,775 |
| Illinois Eastern Community Colleges | Olney | public | $10,092 | 56.1% | $37,533 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | public | $10,427 | 33.1% | $36,884 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College | Chicago | public | $9,038 | 49.2% | $31,114 |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | public | $12,013 | 26.5% | $40,768 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | public | $9,494 | 27.4% | $28,467 |
| Southeastern Illinois College | Harrisburg | public | $11,437 | 39.3% | $33,763 |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | public | $12,961 | 36.3% | $37,366 |
| Universal Technical Institute of Illinois Inc | Lisle | private for-profit | $27,060 | 61% | $52,873 |
| Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Chicago | Chicago | private for-profit | $27,347 | not reported | $53,341 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park | Melrose Park | private for-profit | $25,598 | 61.7% | $38,683 |
Ranking = median earnings 10 years after entry per $1,000 of average yearly net price (methodology). Figures are institution-wide federal medians for each school as a whole — not diesel mechanics graduates specifically. Schools without both figures sort last — "not reported" means the federal dataset lacks the value, not that the school is bad.
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