Diagnose and repair home appliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.
You may also see this posted as: Appliance Technician (Appliance Tech), Repair Technician, Service Technician (Service Tech), Vacuum Repairer, Appliance Mechanic, Appliance Repair Mechanic.
Customers' homes and repair shops
Full time, some evenings
Realistic
working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world
Conventional
organizing information, following systems, and getting details right
Investigative
solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work
O*NET job zone 2 of 5
Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
BLS estimates 14.7% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: On-the-job training, some certification.
Related work experience: None.
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.
No license in most states; EPA certification is needed to handle refrigerants.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
Fixes home appliances like refrigerators, washers, and ovens, usually on service calls.
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Standard Occupational Classification 49-9031. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.