How to Become an Appliance Repair Technician?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights that the mean hourly wage for an appliance repair technician is around $21.80 per hour. The mean annual wage is stated to be $45,340. 

In May 2022, the average hourly pay scale for employees of all sectors in the United States was noted to be $10.96/hour. This proves that an appliance repair technician is in a good earning position. 

Appliance repair technicians hold expertise in electronics, their installation, maintenance, and repair. They execute their services on both residential as well as commercial fronts. 
Anyone who intends to learn how to become an appliance repair technician must be guided with the right steps in pursuing the path.

So, let’s discuss those essential steps and all associated details that will help you groom your skills to be a professional appliance technician.

Who is an Appliance Repair Technician?

Appliance repair technicians are professionals who work on the technical repairs associated with electronic appliances. They also take care of maintenance for the new or old appliances to ensure they operate seamlessly. 

The appliance technician training also guides these individuals to work on initial home or commercial appliance installations. 

They can either be working with a specific manufacturer or can run small repair businesses to operate with multi-brand appliances. 

Every individual with the designation needs to complete training on every technicality of handling installation, maintenance, and repair of one or more varieties of appliances. Only then are they fit to start working on dedicated jobs.

What Does an Appliance Repair Technician Do?

Appliance repair technicians look forward to working on electronic appliances, such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, and microwave ovens. 

The major responsibilities that these professionals do upon any service request are:

• Traveling to residential or commercial property to diagnose the appliance and its troubleshooting problems
• Informing the clients about necessary replacements, repairs, and the expected cost in the process 
• Installation of new parts or fixing the existing ones 
• Normal cleaning of the appliances 
• Assembling small or large appliances on request 
• Understanding the use of mechanical and electrical tools with all safety concerns 
• Guiding the clients with safety instructions during the ongoing repair, replacement, or installation job
• Producing the original bills of replacement parts, repairs, and technician costs

Steps to Become an Appliance Repair Technician

There are several crucial factors that one must consider to become an appliance repair technician. Apart from just a technical training program, there are a few more steps before and after that which you should adapt to.

The steps on how to become an appliance repair technician are as follows:

Step 1: Spend your time on research for the best training institutions

There are several training institutions and courses available for you to master the skills needed to get into the appliance repair industry as an appliance repair person.

But before searching for the right institutions, you need to understand that there is no national standard for appliance technicians. Therefore, employers set their qualifications for hiring technicians for their company. 

Some companies will require just a high school diploma certificate or Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) for employment. Such companies offer on-job training to the candidates. 

But some establishments will specifically demand you to get technical training, graduation, or experience to work with them.

Check the requirement criteria for multiple companies you wish to apply for and make a note of them.  

Now, look for the institutes that offer such certifications or degrees for you to be eligible to work as an appliance repair technician. Check if the teaching staff and quality of education are appropriate for you to gain optimal skills by the end of your course. 

Give your passion, interest, time, and patience to the learning sessions, and you will eventually be proficient with your skills. You will be a fully trained graduate by the time you complete your course. 

To strengthen your resume and stand out among many appliance technicians, you need to stay updated with the latest technologies within the appliance industry. 

And for that, you must keep looking for events, seminars, and training programs that usually invite beginner and experienced technicians.

Step 2: Get vocational or technical training

Even with your high school or graduate certifications, it is better to attend vocational training to learn about different appliances and their mechanisms. 

The degrees will help you learn the right way of approaching any electrical or technical fault in appliances. But vocational schools will teach you how to implement that knowledge onto different appliances. 

These vocational courses will help you expand your skills with knowledge of handling electricity, woodworking, mathematics, basic plumbing, computer systems, and mechanical drawing. 

With this, you will be able to make your resume better than the others to get the desired job placement.

Step 3: Obtain the necessary certifications and specializations

There are certain specialization entitlements or appliance service technician certifications to give you a reputed status for your designation. The certifications are not essential for the position of a general appliance repair technician. But if you are willing to obtain a specialization and give your career a boost, then additional qualifications might be essential.

The repair technicians who work on refrigerators in specific or as part of their skillset must have a certification by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States. 

In this certification by EPA, the learner needs to pass examinations on subjects such as refrigeration leak repair and ozone depletion. If you wish to get the specialization of being a refrigerator technician, this becomes a mandatory requirement by companies. 

Apart from that, there are safety certifications for handling electrical appliances that the technicians should have. It will prove that the individual is aware of how to keep the surroundings safe while working on the installation, repair, and replacement of appliances. 

Also, a qualified appliance repair technician must acquire a valid driver’s license as a prerequisite requirement for the job. They should have a clean driving record, no drug history, and no criminal records in the past to be eligible for a job in any company.

Step 4: Take internships and gain some experience

When you believe you have all the necessary qualifications, such as degrees, certifications, and licenses, to work in an appliance repair business, start looking for internship opportunities. 

There are many paid and unpaid internships listed by appliance manufacturers to certify interns with actual work experience. These internships are beneficial for both candidates as well as the companies. 

During the internship, you will be learning from senior professionals of the company and will also be able to execute what you have learned so far in the courses. 

Fill the gap between theoretical learning and practical implementations, and you will be ready for an appliance technician job.

Step 5: Look for a job to start your career

Some big manufacturers demand high experience to allow technicians to work in their companies. And degrees, certifications, and internships are not sufficient to give you enough experience to clear the requirement criteria for high-paying companies. 

Therefore, it is better to get a job at a small business that has a good reputation in the industry. Gain practical on-paper work experience, which will be accountable when you switch to a bigger manufacturer for being their appliance repair technician. 

It is better to look for a job that offers on-the-job training to help you expand your skills. It will be helpful for your future! 

If you don’t find any small repair businesses, then look for maintenance divisions of some larger companies in your locality. They often hire freshers with/without internship experiences to attend immediate workloads.

Step 6: Continue with your education

You need to continue with your education even after multiple years of experience in the field and get a job in a high-paying company. 

Technology is evolving every year, and new home appliances with smart features are now being introduced. It is important to stay updated with the new required skills to stay ahead in the market.

For instance, earlier, air conditioners were available in just window style. But that demanded complex installations. Therefore, over time, air conditioner technology evolved and wall-hung or split air conditioning was introduced, which lessened the installation effort.

The evolution in technology demanded appliance repair technicians learn new installation, repair, and maintenance skills for split air conditioners. 

Hence, this explains the importance of continuing your education even after getting a job.

Step 7: Start your own business (optional)

Over the course of time, when you have ample experience in handling appliance repairs and maintenance jobs, you can consider starting your own business. 

Here are the steps for you to kickstart your new appliance repair business:

• Come up with a business plan and pick a catchy name for the company. 
• Apply for insurance and business license for the same. 
• Choose the services that you plan on offering to the customers. 
• Buy the essential equipment or repair tools that you will need for the installation, repair, and maintenance jobs of the appliances. 
• Get a transport vehicle for carrying the home appliances and tools to/from different sites.
• Design a website and plan a marketing strategy to promote your business to the target audience. 

FieldCamp Can Make it Easy to Track the Repair, Maintenance, and Installation Jobs at Ease

FieldCamp is an efficient scheduling software for appliance maintenance and repair businesses. 

It can enable your appliance technicians to easily check the details of assigned jobs, send invoices, get reminders, and accept payments over the portal. 

Proper field service management helps appliance repair businesses streamline all of their resources and operations productively.

Our approach is to help small- and medium-sized businesses grow with technological evolutions. Check out our 7-day FREE trial and experience the amazing benefits we offer. 

Try our service features, and decide for yourself how easy it would be for appliance repair technicians to execute and organize their jobs. Connect us, and our consultants will guide you with the features of our digital tool.