Also called: O&P Technician, Prosthetic Technician
Builds and repairs artificial limbs and braces in the lab from the clinician's designs.
Spends the day in a workshop laminating carbon fiber, grinding plastic, sewing straps, and assembling knee joints and feet. Precise, crafty, and meaningful.
Estimate based on BLS medical appliance technicians.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. A 1-2 year certificate or associate program, or on-the-job training; registration optional.
Ways in: Trade school, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Orthotic & Prosthetic Technology (certificate).
Growing about average. Steady.
Medium risk for 10 years. 3D printing and CNC carving replace some hand fabrication; finishing, laminating and repairs still need skilled hands.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at orthotic & prosthetic labs (ask for a trainee job) or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Shop or woodworking, 3D printing or CAD, Sewing or fashion, Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9082.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.