# Medical Equipment Repairers

US SOC code 49-9062. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/49-9062

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **65,990** US medical equipment repairers, with median pay of **$61,660** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://aami.org/certifications/cbet/) of **10,000** from 1972, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for medical equipment repairers: Networked medical devices + cybersecurity tools, 2005 to 2020.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 12.6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9062&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **27.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv) (Official statistic)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Medical Equipment Repairers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1942
- Latest US employment: 65,990 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $61,660 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Outlook: +12.6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [14]

### All 24 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1972 | 10,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., AAMI [1] |
| 2003 | 23,500 | $37,960 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [2] |
| 2004 | 23,750 | $37,220 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [2] |
| 2005 | 27,940 | $39,570 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [2] |
| 2006 | 32,100 | $40,580 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [2] |
| 2007 | 34,080 | $40,320 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [2] |
| 2008 | 34,260 | $41,520 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [2] |
| 2009 | 34,550 | $42,300 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [2] |
| 2010 | 32,980 | $44,490 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [2] |
| 2011 | 34,710 | $44,870 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [2] |
| 2012 | 35,740 | $44,570 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [2] |
| 2013 | 40,090 | $44,180 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [2] |
| 2014 | 41,430 | $45,660 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [2] |
| 2015 | 41,060 | $46,340 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [2] |
| 2016 | 43,370 | $48,070 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [2] |
| 2017 | 43,670 | $48,820 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [2] |
| 2018 | 46,320 | $49,210 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [2] |
| 2019 | 46,370 | $49,280 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [2] |
| 2020 | 48,510 | $51,610 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [2] |
| 2021 | 53,400 | $49,910 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 58,830 | $57,860 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 64,400 | $60,670 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 60,830 | $62,630 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 65,990 | $61,660 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (68)

### Employment series

1. [AAMI — Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) certification program history (first examination 1971, first certificates April 1972)](https://aami.org/certifications/cbet/), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

4. [Wikipedia — Biomedical equipment technician (early history: WWII Army training, vacuum-tube era)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_equipment_technician), Wikipedia
5. [FORCE Biomedical — History of Biomedical Engineering (WWII origins of hospital electronics technicians)](https://forcebiomedical.com/history-of-biomedical-engineering/), FORCE Biomedical
6. [BMET Wiki (Fandom) — Ralph Nader article 1970 on hospital electrocution, electrical safety scare as catalyst for BMET profession](https://bmet.fandom.com/wiki/Ralph_Nader), BMET Wiki / Fandom
7. [AAMI — CBET certification history: first examination 1971, first certificates April 1972](https://aami.org/certifications/cbet/), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
8. [Wikipedia — Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI founded 1965; standards development history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Medical_Instrumentation), Wikipedia
9. [Congress.gov — Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-629): required hospitals to report device-related deaths/injuries to FDA and maintain service records](https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/3095), U.S. Congress
10. [Safe Medical Device Amendments of 1990 — Wikipedia (FDA reporting requirements for device-related incidents; shaped maintenance documentation practices for three decades)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_Medical_Device_Amendments_of_1990), Wikipedia
11. [BLS OEWS 2020 — 49-9062 Medical Equipment Repairers (employment 48,510; cross-check on the growth trajectory)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes499062.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
12. [Business Wire / ResearchAndMarkets — Medical Equipment Repair Services Market 2025-2032: IoT and AI enabling predictive maintenance, 42% of hospitals globally adopting predictive maintenance tools](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251209209459/en/Medical-Equipment-Repair-Services-Market-2025-2032---How-Digital-Transformations-are-Accelerating-Growth-in-the-90-Billion-Industry---ResearchAndMarkets.com), ResearchAndMarkets / Business Wire
13. [O\*NET 49-9062.00 — Medical Equipment Repairers: tools used, technology skills, work context (current as of 2024)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/49-9062.00), O\*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)

### Forecasts and exposure studies

14. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 49-9062 Medical equipment repairers (2025: 71.8 thousand; 2035: 80.9 thousand; +12.6%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=49-9062&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
15. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 49-9062.00, human-rated β 0.273)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

16. [FORCE Biomedical — History of Biomedical Engineering (WWII Army origins of medical electronics technician)](https://forcebiomedical.com/history-of-biomedical-engineering/), FORCE Biomedical
17. [Wikipedia — Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI founded 1965)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Medical_Instrumentation), Wikipedia
18. [BMET Wiki / Fandom — Ralph Nader (1970 article on hospital electrocution deaths and its impact on BMET profession)](https://bmet.fandom.com/wiki/Ralph_Nader), BMET Wiki / Fandom
19. [AAMI — Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) certification: history and programme information](https://aami.org/certifications/cbet/), Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation
20. [Congress.gov — H.R.3095, Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 (101st Congress)](https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-bill/3095), U.S. Congress
21. [Wikipedia — WannaCry ransomware attack (May 2017 impact on hospitals and medical devices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WannaCry_ransomware_attack), Wikipedia

### Predecessors & successors

22. [Wikipedia — Biomedical equipment technician (military training origins in WWII)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_equipment_technician), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.