Fix fridges, washers and ovens in people's homes. Almost no school, and you can own the business by 30.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$50,990
Trainee
$36,190
Senior tech or owner
$80,660
The national median is $50,990 a year and the bottom tenth start near $36,190. The published range counts employees. Technicians who own their own van and book their own calls can earn well past the top of it, and carry the risk themselves.
$17 to $22 an hour
Riding along and learning, usually with a retailer or a service company
This is a job you get hired into with a high school diploma and a clean driving record. Training is mostly on the job.
$90,000 to $150,000 in revenue
A solo technician with a van and a steady book of customers
That is revenue, not take-home. Subtract the van, fuel, parts, insurance and the calls that do not go well. Still, plenty of techs do far better alone than employed.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is close to nothing, because a service company trains you, supplies the van and stocks the parts, and you buy a starter set of hand tools and meters. The high end is a few months at a community or technical college, a fuller tool kit, and the refrigerant handling certification exam at $25 to $150 depending on the testing organization. Neither figure includes a van and stock, which is the cost of starting a business rather than the cost of qualifying. This is one of the cheapest skilled careers to enter in the country.
This is one of the cheapest skilled careers to enter in the country. Many people pay nothing, because a service company trains them and supplies the van.
A company van and fuel card
Most employers supply both, plus the tablet and the parts stock.
Flat-rate or per-call pay
Many shops pay a set amount per completed job, so working efficiently pays you directly.
Manufacturer training
Brands run free factory training on their own machines, which you keep for life.
Work near home
Your territory is usually a handful of towns. No travel, no relocation.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
One of the shortest paths on this site. Most people learn on the job.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Shop class and basic electrical knowledge help. A clean driving record matters more than your grades.
Get hired as a trainee
Right away
Retailer service departments, independent shops and warranty companies all hire and train. Some run registered apprenticeships.
Ride along and learn
6 to 12 months
Six months to a year with an experienced technician before you are sent out alone.
Refrigerant certification
A day of study
Required by federal law before you can work on anything sealed that holds refrigerant, which means every fridge and freezer.
Factory and brand training
Ongoing
Manufacturers certify technicians on their own products. More brands means more calls you can take.
Shop or small engines
Comfort taking things apart and putting them back together properly.
Electronics or electrical
Most modern appliance faults are electrical or on a control board.
Math
Reading a meter, checking pressures and quoting a job all need it.
English and communication
Half the job is explaining a $400 repair to a frustrated homeowner.
In most states nobody licenses appliance repair. You can be hired and sent out with no credential at all. The exception is refrigerant. Section 608 of the federal Clean Air Act makes it illegal to intentionally vent refrigerants, and you need certification from an approved organization to buy or handle them. Some states and cities also require a license for gas appliance connections or for running a contracting business, so check your own state before you go out on your own.
On the job
The main route. A service company hires you green and pays you while you learn.
Community and technical colleges
Short appliance or refrigeration certificates, often a semester or two.
Registered apprenticeships
Paid programs registered with the United States Department of Labor, listed on its apprenticeship site.
Manufacturer schools
Brands train technicians on their own machines, usually free to employees of an authorized servicer.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Refrigerant handling certification
Required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before you touch a sealed system. The universal level covers everything.
Professional Service Association certification
A voluntary skill credential from the appliance service industry's own body. Useful when you go independent.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) training
Adds furnaces and air conditioners to your work, and those calls pay more.
Brand authorization
Being an authorized servicer for a major brand sends warranty work straight to you.
A clean driving record
You drive all day in a marked van. This is a hiring requirement almost everywhere.
Patience with people
You are a guest in someone's kitchen on a bad day for them.
Basic business skills
Quoting, invoicing and scheduling are what separate a solo tech who thrives from one who quits.
A second language
More customers you can serve, and more calls you can take.
This is one of the easiest skilled trades to turn into a business. The equipment fits in a van, the customers come from a phone number and reviews, and there is no franchise to buy. What kills solo technicians is not the repair work, it is the admin: chasing payment, holding the right parts, insurance, and taking calls on a Saturday. Work for someone else for a few years first and learn how they run the back office.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Six to eight calls, each in a different house. Load the van with likely parts, drive to the first address, listen to what the customer noticed, then test. Most of the skill is diagnosis: deciding whether it is a $30 valve, a $400 control board, or an appliance not worth fixing. Order what you do not have, book the return visit, write the invoice on a tablet, drive to the next one. Home for dinner most nights.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Section 608 of the Clean Air Act bans intentionally venting refrigerants while servicing or scrapping cooling equipment. That single rule is why appliance technicians need certification before touching a sealed fridge system.
Swapping a part is straightforward. Working out which of five possible failures caused the symptom, without replacing parts at the customer's expense until something works, is the job.
A modern washer runs on a control board with error codes and sensors. Technicians now carry a tablet and read fault codes as often as they use a wrench.
Registered apprenticeships in appliance and equipment service are listed on the federal apprenticeship site. You earn a wage from the first day and the employer covers the training.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in United States dollars, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published pay scales. They vary by state, employer and experience. Tuition is for in-state students at public schools unless the card says otherwise.