If you're looking to become an appliance repair technician, you'll need to enroll in a vocational or professional program. This could involve taking specific courses on mechanical drawing, electrical engineering, carpentry, blueprint reading, mathematics, computer systems and more. Alternatively, you could get an internship in the repair industry and follow a qualified technician to learn how to complete work orders. Depending on the program you follow, appliance repair training can take anywhere from 30 days to 2 years to complete.
The best way to learn is to attend a community college, where you'll receive hundreds of hours of hands-on, in-person training. Examples of the types of appliance repair training courses offered by private academies and community colleges across the country include the University of Tennessee System and Fred's Appliance Academy. In addition to these requirements, qualified appliance repair technicians must have a driver's license, a relatively clean driving record, a clean background check, and the ability to pass random drug tests. To remain a sought-after technician, read appliance manuals, attend seminars, and stay up to date on the latest appliance trends on your own.
As an appliance repair technician, you'll have to be prepared to travel frequently, deal with grumpy customers, work in uncomfortable positions and temperatures, and probably have strange schedules as well. If you're self-employed, you can set your own schedule but there are a lot of appliance repair technicians who will set uncomfortable schedules. General maintenance and appliance repair workers can learn by watching qualified maintenance workers and fixing simple projects on their own (leaky faucets, replacing light bulbs, etc.). As an appliance repair technician, you'll be known as the man or woman who can fix just about anything.
