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Sterile Processing Technician: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

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Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
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Median percentile pay

Half of sterile processing technicians earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$47,700
Hourly
$22.93
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Sterile Processing Technicians prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. The median pay is $47,700 a year ($22.93 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (44% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$47,700
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
77,420
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 2 of 5
some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
44% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Medical Equipment Preparers (O*NET-SOC 31-9093.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Sterile Processing Technicians

SalarySterile Processing Technician salary

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The work

What sterile processing technicians do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Examine equipment to detect leaks, worn or loose parts, or other indications of disrepair.
  2. Check sterile supplies to ensure that they are not outdated.
  3. Record sterilizer test results.
  4. Organize and assemble routine or specialty surgical instrument trays or other sterilized supplies, filling special requests as needed.
  5. Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
  6. Clean instruments to prepare them for sterilization.
  7. Disinfect and sterilize equipment, such as respirators, hospital beds, or oxygen or dialysis equipment, using sterilizers, aerators, or washers.
  8. Purge wastes from equipment by connecting equipment to water sources and flushing water through systems.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Critical ThinkingcoreQuality Control AnalysiscoreMonitoringcoreOperations MonitoringActive ListeningTroubleshootingReading ComprehensionSpeakingCoordination

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Biology, Production and Processing, Public Safety and Security.

Tools and technology

Software sterile processing technicians use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Kronos Workforce TimekeeperTime accounting softwareHot technology
  • MEDITECH softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareMedical softwareHot technology
  • Inventory tracking softwareInventory management software
  • MEDITECH Supply Chain ManagementMaterials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
  • Pyxis MedStation softwareInventory management software
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft SharePointDocument management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology

Also called: Central Sterile Technician (Central Sterile Tech), Central Supply Processing Department Technician (CSPDT), Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST), CRCST (Certified Registered Central Supply Technician), CSS Technician (Central Sterile Supply Technician), CST (Central Service Technician).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).