If you’re keen about working in medical health specialties, sterile processing is one field that is very decent in terms of salary. Take a look at the average salary figures for a sterile processing technician, and figure out if this field is where you want to shape a career for yourself or not.
Medicine, undoubtedly, has expanded its horizons in the last few decades. Today, the variety of surgical procedures has grown significantly, and so has the medical equipment. The main aim of health care professionals is to provide efficient and economical treatment to their patients, with no compromises being done with their safety. This is where sterile processing comes to play its part. A sterile processing technician disassembles, cleans, assembles, and packages surgical instruments, and later on, supplies them to health care facilities, where they’re brought into use for day-to-day operations. Infection prevention and regulation is their key duty, and this makes their job one of the most important in the medical fraternity. The reason being the fact that when it comes to patient safety, the instruments need to be sterilized and infection-free.
Sterile processing technicians are knowledgeable of all processes associated with the inspection, cleaning, assembling, and packaging of surgical equipment, so as to ensure the aseptic supply of material to health care facilities. A job as a sterile processing technician can help you lay a foundation to an interesting career, where you meet new patients everyday in the most reputable medical institutions of the world. Well, that does reflect in the impressive salary figures these technicians get. The following section tells exactly how much does a technician in this field make. Let’s take a look.
Average Pay Scale of Sterile Processing Technicians
Given that sterile processing is a field of medicine, growth and development in this area is ever-growing, and job opportunities are going to increase significantly in the next few years. The job profile requires technicians to be detail-oriented and careful, and as a result, the salary is highly driven by the performance, the workplace, the geographical region, and most importantly, the number of years of relevant work experience. The average annual salary of sterile processing technicians in the United States of America is between $22,000 – $50,000, depending upon the geographical region that a technician chooses to work in, and the experience they hold. The following tabular data represents the annual average pay scale of sterile processing technicians in all major states of the US. Take a look, and select your area of work accordingly.
| • Alabama – $25,000 • Arizona – $27,000 • Alaska – $33,000 • Arkansas – $23,000 • Colorado – $31,000 • California – $33,000 • Connecticut – $35,000 • Delaware – $31,000 • District of Columbia – $46,000 • Florida – $27,000 • Georgia – $28,000 • Hawaii – $29,000 • Idaho – $26,000 • Illinois – $31,000 • Indiana – $26,000 • Iowa – $25,000 • Kansas – $26,000 • Kentucky – $25,000 • Louisiana – $25,000 • Maine – $26,000 • Massachusetts – $36,000 • Michigan – $31,000 • Minnesota – $31,000 • Mississippi – $23,000 • Missouri – $27,000 • Montana – $24,000 • Nebraska – $26,000 • Nevada – $27,000 • New Jersey – $34,000 • New Mexico – $26,000 • New York – $34,000 • North Carolina – $27,000 • Ohio – $30,000 • Oklahoma – $25,000 • Oregon – $34,000 • Pennsylvania – $28,000 • South Carolina – $25,000 • South Dakota – $23,000 • Tennessee – $26,000 • Texas – $27,000 • Utah – $27,000 • Virginia – $31,000 • Washington – $32,000 • Wisconsin – $28,000 |
Note: The above mentioned salaries are approximate and may be subject to change.
Undoubtedly, the salary figures might have instigated you to grab a path to this career at the quickest. However, the educational qualifications are worth a concern before you decide to become a sterile processing technician. To become one, the minimum requirement is a high school diploma, and a sterile processing training program, where you will get acquainted with sterilization techniques, and patient safety. Along with the training program, one needs to be knowledgeable of the basic medical terminology as well as all surgical instruments and their uses in daily operations. All these requisites make up for your first step to become a sterile processing technician in a reputable medical institution, along with taking a hefty salary back home.