With the new year here and some readers potentially considering a career switch into appliance repair, I wanted to provide a fresh overview of the top appliance repair schools out there, their unique features, their drawbacks, and their costs. I examined the four significant entities offering training programs: Penn Foster, Master Samurai Tech, Uncle Harry’s Appliance Repair School, and Fred’s Appliance Repair. In addition to this information, you should be taking into consideration your existing knowledge of appliance repair, your general mechanical/electrical skills, your budget for education, and your timeline for starting work.
It is no secret that I started my career with Uncle Harry’s School and have been quite successful. However I often get comments asking me about other options so i have done my best to be objective in my analysis.
General Features of Appliance Repair Training
Common topics and disciplines covered across appliance repair training programs include the following:
- Electrical and gas fundamentals
- Appliance-specific parts, repair techniques, and common issues
- Appliance repair business operations best practices
For aspiring appliance repair professionals, keep in mind that specific training programs will cover more or less detail about these modules. Thus, it’s important to identify what topics best match your aspirations. For example, if you’re considering starting your own appliance repair business, you’ll want to enroll in a school that prioritizes entrepreneurship and mentoring.
Along with knowing what is most important to your professional development, you’ll also want to take into consideration your familiarity with appliances’ components and how to repair them. Individuals with little to no background in the field should seek out a training curriculum that starts with the basics of appliance repair and take their time to enrich their knowledge. Rushing out to service calls will only result in frustration and hinder long-term success. More experienced pros, on the other hand, would likely do best with schools that offer specialized training, such as deep-dives into the electrical components of specific appliances.
How Four Appliance Repair Schools Compare
Penn Foster
Who This Program is For: Novices
Focus Areas:
- Appliance repair basics
- Electricity, electronics, and gas for home appliances including small appliances
- Repairs for dryers, washers, microwaves, dishwashers, ovens, small appliances and sealed refrigeration systems (refrigerators and freezers)
Estimated Time for Completion: Three to six months
Benefits:
- Low cost
- Studies are delivered online
- Self-paced
- Variety of payment options for tuition
- Dedicated Student Services Department for questions
- Accepts veterans’ education benefits
Drawbacks:
- Coursework is geared mostly towards novices. Impractical advice such as fixing blenders and other throwaway appliances.
- Limited focus on running an appliance repair business
- No ongoing support after graduation
- Very old dated material
Cost: $799 to $929 depending on payment options
Master Samurai Tech
Who This Program is For: Novices, seasoned pros, and individuals with an interest in the mechanical/electrical ins-and-outs of appliances
Focus Areas:
- Appliance repair basics: tools, common issues, and quick fixes
- Advanced electricity, electronics, and gas repairs for home appliances
- Deep-dives on the tech in modern appliances and how to identify problems
- Customer service
Estimated Time for Completion: Two to three months (varies on the courses you take and level of experience going into studies)
Benefits:
- Ability to customize a curriculum
- Studies are delivered online
- Self-paced
- Variety of payment options for tuition
- One-year subscription to Appliantology, an online resource for technicians, after graduation
Drawbacks:
- Coursework is geared mostly towards experienced appliance repair pros. Gets very technical. Included deep electrical theory.
- Limited focus on running an appliance repair business
- Cost
- Limited ongoing support after graduation via a support forum and email; no personal mentoring or phone contact
- Lifetime access to training materials for a small fee ($5 to $10 per month)
Cost: $150 to $1895 depending on the number of courses selected
Uncle Harry’s Appliance Repair School
Who This Program is For: Novices, seasoned pros, and people with an strong interest in running their own business
Focus Areas:
- Appliance repair basics: tools, common issues, and quick fixes. Includes important information on which calls to turn down and which ones are profitable.
- Electricity, electronics, and gas repairs for home appliances
- Ways to get started cheap[y, make the phone ring and grow your own appliance repair business
- Emphasis on honesty and great customer service
Estimated Time for Completion: Two to three months (varies on the courses you take and level of experience going into studies)
Benefits:
- Ability to customize a curriculum. Variety of online options on Shopify.
- Studies are delivered online
- Self-paced
- Variety of payment options for tuition
- An appliance repair wizard tablet preloaded with 8,500+ of the newest service manuals and 200+ how-to on-the-job videos –> these get updated weekly
- Optional laptop with 240 videos filmed in customers houses.
- Job pricing guidance
- Lifetime phone and virtual support, even when a tech is on a job
- Students get set-up with a mentor
Drawbacks:
-
Doesn’t teach warranty or system work; it is Uncle Harry’s opinion that far more money is made focusing on COD work. Interestingly he has data to prove it.
Cost: $599 to $2899 depending on the selected package
Fred’s Appliance Academy
Who This Program is For: Novices
Focus Areas:
- Appliance repair basics: tools, common issues, and quick fixes
- Electricity, electronics, and gas repairs for home appliances
Estimated Time for Completion: 15 to 20 hours per course
Benefits:
- Studies are delivered online and post-pandemic there’ll be an in-person option again
- Self-paced
- Variety of payment options for tuition and student aid
- Virtual and phone support for current students
Drawbacks:
- Limited focus on running an appliance repair business
- Prior to COVID-19, students had to attend their training in-person
Cost: $200 to $300 per course