Sterile Processing Technician

Types of Degrees Sterile Processing Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many sterile processing technology/technician graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	699
Undergraduate Certificate	405
Associate Degree	4

What Sterile Processing Technician Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to sterile processing technology/technician and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in sterile processing technology/technician should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors

When studying sterile processing technology/technician, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Abilities for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors

As you progress with your sterile processing technology/technician degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

What Can You Do With a Sterile Processing Technician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with sterile processing technology/technician:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical Equipment Preparers	11.1%	$36,240
Surgical Technologists	11.7%	$47,300

How Much Do Sterile Processing Technician Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $37,990 to $49,040 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to sterile processing technology/technician. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Sterile Processing Technician

Some careers associated with sterile processing technology/technician require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to sterile processing technology/technician have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	24.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	31.6%
Some College Courses	14.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	22.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.6%
Master’s Degree	0.9%

Online Sterile Processing Technician Programs

In 2020-2021, 87 schools offered a sterile processing technology/technician program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	23	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	2	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Sterile Processing Technician Worth It?

The median salary for a sterile processing technology/technician grad is $37,990 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Majors Related to Sterile Processing Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to sterile processing technology/technician.

Major	Number of Grads
Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist	7,599
Laboratory Technician	4,185
Laboratory Sciences & Medical Technology	3,912
Other Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions	982
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	280
Histologic Technician	243
Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician	220
Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist	106
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	101
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician	78
Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist	46
Hematology Technology	41

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Staff Sgt. Jerilyn Quintanilla under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.