what kind of mechanic jobs make around $150,000 a year or more?

Depending on which state you live in, a Diesel Mechanic can make between 75000-200,000 per year based on www.indeed.com website

The first example that comes to mind is a Master Mechanic who specializes in uncommon vehicles. This might be expensive boats, expensive cars, exotic construction equipment, or technical applications like robotics and other automation. I once worked at a Chevrolet dealership. Chevrolets are fairly inexpensive on average. However, there was one mechanic who specialized in Corvettes. These are very inexpensive for a performance car, but let's face it -- Corvettes are rather nice vehicles. And the people who buy them are fastidious and demanding. And Corvettes are very impressive from a technology point of view. This guy knew everything about Corvettes. And was skilled in every part of them, including some actual body work. It was generally known that he was the top earner in the garage. Some may call him a "grease monkey", but those guys are simply called either "technicians" or "engineers". As with most jobs, you get paid what people think your services are worth. This is why skilled craftspeople rarely care about or talk about "minimum wage". If you do something well enough for people to value your skill, you'll demand a higher wage. One of the earliest authors from Europe who reported about the American capitalist system remarked how amazing it was that even "lowly table servers" in America served people with joy, with pride, with a feeling of achievement. And the customers paid their appreciating and respect back. The amazing thing was that it was a "servant" role, but both parties entered into the arrangement with willingness and eagerness. The author found that fascinating. That's how capitalism works. Two people enter into a voluntary arrangement with the goal of both leaving happy. It's very cool. But we need to be reminded of it every once in awhile how special that is.