Medical Appliance Technicians

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$48,030

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$42,210 – $60,580

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

11,280

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+3.5%

At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,300

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.

Main tasks

• Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications.
• Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
• Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
• Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required.
• Make orthotic or prosthetic devices, using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand or power tools.
• Bend, form, and shape fabric or material to conform to prescribed contours of structural components.
• Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, or biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures.
• Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Dental Laboratory Technicians

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• Medical Equipment Repairers

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• Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

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• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters

  $51,330 median · -6.2% projected

• Surgical Technologists

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• Calibration Technologists and Technicians

  $67,820 median · +4.8% projected