How to become a Home Appliance Repairer

Official title: Home Appliance Repairers

Also called: Appliance Mechanic, Appliance Repair Mechanic, Appliance Repair Technician (Appliance Repair Tech), Appliance Service Technician, Appliance Technician (Appliance Tech), Repair Man, Repair Technician, Service Technician (Service Tech), Vacuum Repairer

Repair, adjust, or install all types of electric or gas household appliances, such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.

Main tasks

• Bill customers for repair work, and collect payment.
• Observe and examine appliances during operation to detect specific malfunctions such as loose parts or leaking fluid.
• Talk to customers or refer to work orders to establish the nature of appliance malfunctions.
• Refer to schematic drawings, product manuals, and troubleshooting guides to diagnose and repair problems.
• Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds.
• Replace worn and defective parts such as switches, bearings, transmissions, belts, gears, circuit boards, or defective wiring.
• Provide repair cost estimates, and recommend whether appliance repair or replacement is a better choice.
• Disassemble appliances so that problems can be diagnosed and repairs can be made.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Electrical Appliance Repairer.
• Apprenticeship: Electrical Appliance Services.
• Apprenticeship: Electric Tool Repairer.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $50,990 a year The middle half earn $43,780 to $63,390.
• About 40,500 people work in this job now, and about 41,300 are projected by 2035. (+1.9%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Mechanical Door Repairers
• Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
• Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
• Industrial Machinery Mechanics
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery
• Millwrights

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Home Appliance Repairer?

Ways in include: Electrical Appliance Repairer.

How much does a Home Appliance Repairer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $50,990 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $43,780 to $63,390.

Is a Home Appliance Repairer a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 40,500 people now and 41,300 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Home Appliance Repairer?

Usually not. Only 14% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Electrical Appliance Repairer.

Will AI change the work of a Home Appliance Repairer?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.