How To Become A Central Service Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a central service technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Central service technicians typically work in sterile processing rooms within hospitals or other medical facilities. All equipment and supplies needed for surgery and other aspects of patient care are dispatched from these centres. They coordinate and collaborate the overall cleaning, decontamination, assembly, and dispensing of surgical instruments, equipment, and supplies needed for daily surgical procedures in surgery or related departments.

Essential functions that central service technicians perform in this capacity include but are not limited to providing integrity and sterility of products and services for the customers, while working in conjunction with the operation room staff to provide timely sterile products. In addition, they decontaminate, prep, pack, sterilize, and document the instruments. Central service technicians also assist in preparation with patients in pre-op and post-op area and report defective equipment to supervisor or staff. A high school diploma or equivalent is the minimum educational requirement. Some employers may require a certification such as Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification. One year of work experience in a similar field will be given preference.

The average hourly salary for the position is $14.67, which amounts to $30,504 annually. The career is expected to grow in the near future, resulting in new opportunities emerging all over the United States.

ScoreCentral Service TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $35,167

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 1.67%

Black or African American 4.62%

Hispanic or Latino 16.90%

Unknown 3.74%

White 72.35%

Gender

female 53.34%

male 46.66%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a central service technician

Explore central service technician education requirements

Most common central service technician degrees

Associate

27.8 %

Bachelor's

24.6 %

High School Diploma

21.5 %

Start to develop specific central service technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	18.30%
Sterile Processing	14.78%
Customer Service	8.72%
Instrument Trays	5.84%
Sterilizers	5.63%

Complete relevant central service technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New central service technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a central service technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real central service technician resumes.

Gain additional central service technician certifications

Central service technician certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific central service technician certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for central service technicians include Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRSCT) and Medical Assistant.

More About Certifications

Research central service technician duties and responsibilities

Follow strict AAMI standards while utilizing Cidex OPA, to achieve high level disinfection.
Check return items for completeness, cleanliness, and breakage.
Run autoclave, sterrad, and ETO machines, which are sterilization machines.
Sterilize instrument sets in using the appropriate method such as steam sterilization or sterrad.

Prepare your central service technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your central service technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a central service technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable central service technician resume templates

Build a professional central service technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your central service technician resume.