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Try It by Career Calling

Watch and Clock Maker and Repairer

Technicians and Trades WorkersUsually a trade certificate or similar, or several years of experience

What the work is

Makes, repairs, cleans and adjusts watches and clocks.

Would you enjoy the work?

These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.

  • Diagnoses and repairs watch and clock malfunctions
  • Adjusts timing mechanisms and calibrates timepieces
  • Cleans, lubricates and assembles watch and clock components
  • Repairs or replaces watch and clock parts
  • Inspects and tests completed timepieces for accuracy
  • Provides repair estimates and advice to customers

Try it

A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small locksmith and key-cutting shop with a work van, in a fictional suburban shopping strip. They are fictional.

The kind of days you could have

Good days

  • A stuck lock opens, a relieved person walks in and you are the one who made it happen
  • A new lock fits perfectly and turns smoothly on the first try
  • A tricky key cut by hand that works the first time

Hard days

  • A call-out late at night to a stranger in a stressful situation
  • Being asked to open something and having to check carefully that the person has a right to it
  • A lock that has been forced or damaged and a customer who is upset about it

Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.

Work a mission

Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.

Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 332338, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.