Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Water Treatment Specialist or Waste Water Operator operates and monitors equipment in facilities that treat wastewater. Monitors treatment processes so that water is cleaned to meet public health and environmental standards and is safe for drinking or releasing into the environment.
Job Outlook
There were 713 Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 18953 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator industry, which includes the Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $60,727.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $55,554.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $51,014.
Education and Experience
Posted Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 13.82% |
| Master's Degree | 1.53% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.12% |
| Other | 55.31% |
Posted Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 48.98% |
| 3 to 5 years | 42.21% |
| 6 to 8 years | 5.11% |
| 9+ years | 3.7% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Operations (54.35%)
- Communication (36.72%)
- Management (26.24%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (20.84%)
- Sanitation (17.02%)
- Leadership (15.04%)
- Lifting Ability (14.37%)
- Customer Service (13.76%)
- Problem Solving (13.06%)
- Microsoft Office (11.43%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Water Treatment (31.22%)
- Sewage Treatments (43.11%)
- Wastewater (61.13%)
- Wastewater Treatment Plant (21.63%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Disinfecting (7.43%)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (7.73%)
- Environment Health And Safety (3.96%)
- Water Distribution (10.72%)
- Process Control (12.01%)
- Valves (Piping) (25.85%)
- Machinery (18.2%)
- Preventive Maintenance (8.05%)
- Project Management (5.16%)
- Laboratory Testing (14.7%)
- Plumbing (7.87%)
- Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) (12.93%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (8.14%)
- Food Safety And Sanitation (8.93%)
- Instrumentation (7.74%)
- Occupational Safety And Health (5.3%)
- Housekeeping (10.66%)
- Water Supply Networks (7.06%)
- Construction (8.62%)
- Biology (11.65%)
- Chemistry (9.73%)
- Auditing (7.79%)
- Pump Stations (11.39%)
- Power Tool Operation (7.77%)
- Hand Tools (8.23%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Water Metering (3.44%)
- Water Treatments Operation (4.57%)
- Transmission System Operator (3.28%)
- Sludge (4.64%)
- Sewage (5.59%)
- Industrial Wastewater (5.1%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Sludge (60.81%)
- Transmission System Operator (42.95%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Wastewater Operator
- Sanitation Supervisor
- Water/Wastewater Operator
- Wastewater Technician
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
- Water Treatment Plant Operator
- Wastewater Treatment Operator
- Water Treatment Technician
- Wastewater Plant Operator
- Water Treatment Operator
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Water Treatment Specialist / Waste Water Operator jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Transdev (540)
- Inframark (358)
- Aerotek (249)
- GPAC (242)
- Jacobs Solutions (184)
- Pilgrim's Pride (181)
- American Water (152)
- HKA Enterprises (126)
- The Judge Group (124)
- JBS Foods (110)
North Carolina
- Transdev (34)
- Darling Ingredients (20)
- City of Raleigh (17)
- Brunswick County (17)
- Pilgrim's Pride (15)
- Harnett County (12)
- Essential Utilities Corporation (11)
- Smithfield Foods (10)
- Ames Construction (10)
- Butterball (9)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.