Sterile Processing Technology/Technician

Types of Degrees Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many sterile processing technology/technician graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	809
Undergraduate Certificate	522
Associate Degree	2

What Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to sterile processing technology/technician were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Sterile Processing Technology/Technician Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a sterile processing technology/technician student include the following:

• 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 Technology/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

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Sterile Processing Technology/Technician

Some careers associated with sterile processing technology/technician require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for sterile processing technology/technician careers below.

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 Technology/Technician Programs

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)	32	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	1
Bachelor’s Degree	1	1
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

Majors Related to Sterile Processing Technology/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	8,480
Laboratory Sciences & Medical Technology	4,067
Laboratory Technician	3,225
Other Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions	858
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	265
Histologic Technician	253
Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist	132
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	123
Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician	122
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician	71
Hematology Technology	45
Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist	43

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.