Watchmaker
⌚Repairs and services mechanical and quartz watches: strips a movement of a hundred parts, cleans, regulates and restores antique pieces.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $69.9k a year on average
Precision instrument & equipment repairers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £38.2k median a year · 9,000 jobs
Precision instrument makers and repairers — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI is almost useless here: hand repair of movements can't be automated. The real issue is a narrow niche, as cheap watches are easier to throw away.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, ⚙️ Tech and engineering, 🎨 Drawing and design.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, attention to detail.
Where to study
- Vocational Swiss watchmaking school, CFC Horloger (3–4 years)
- Apprenticeship Uhrmacher/in (Ausbildung, DE)
- Vocational WOSTEP-based programmes: British School of Watchmaking (UK), Lititz Watch Technicum (US)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Physics, Art & Design.
🧗 Watchmaking school or apprenticeship, 2–4 years: Switzerland (CFC Horloger), Germany (Uhrmacher), UK (British School of Watchmaking), US (Lititz Watch Technicum). Swiss brands hire steadily.
Similar careers
Not sure what to choose?
A ~100-question quiz builds your interest profile and matches you with careers and universities in Europe, the UK and the US.
Take the quiz →Scales are expert estimates; tuition and admission rules are for 2026/27 from official sources — always check the university website.