Vocational Index

Career

Medical appliance technicians

Make braces, supports and medical appliances.

$48,030
Median pay
+3.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,300
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school

Here's what you actually need to know.

The work

What people in this job do

  • 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.

The outlook

How the forecast changed this year

2024–34 edition+3.7%2025–35 edition+3.5%
Projected 10-year growth in last year's and this year's BLS projections. 1,500 → 1,300 openings a year.

The deeper question

What kind of person does this path ask you to become?

What this work centers on

Objects & tools
7.0
Ideas & analysis
4.0
Information & systems
3.7
People & care
3.2
Creation & expression
1.6
Persuasion & leadership
1.0

O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.

The work

Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?

Responsibility

Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?

“Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications.”

Development

What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?

Critical Thinking, Quality Control Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Speaking.

Trade-offs

What does it ask of you in exchange?

No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $48,030 a year and 1,300 openings nationally each year.

Paths in

Degrees that lead here

  • Orthotist/ProsthetistCIP 51.2307
  • Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation EngineeringCIP 51.2312

Paths across

Careers that use similar skills

Ask anything about this career.

“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.

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Sources

  1. BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  2. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  3. O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
  4. CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.