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What is an environmental service technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Greg Gordon Professor/Chair
introduction image

An Environmental Service Technician plays an important role in hospitals and other health-care centers and is responsible for ensuring a certain quality of cleanliness and safety within these facilities.

They are not just janitors, though they perform some tasks similar to that of the janitorial profession. These Technicians are also trained in disposing of biological waste. Their other duties include mopping and buffing floors, sanitizing entire rooms, disposing of waste, and even repairing some things. They may be required to deposit clean linens across the different departments of the facility and keep track of their numbers and status at any given moment.

A person seeking work in this position needs to have, typically, a high school diploma or a GED and previous experience in a position that requires cleaning, especially with the use of chemicals and other cleaning supplies, and should know how to use certain machinery like floor buffers. Many Technicians receive on-the-job training, and they usually earn an average of $14.26 an hour.

What general advice would you give to an environmental service technician?

Dr. Greg Gordon Professor/Chair

Professor/Chair, Gonzaga University

Find work in another field! LOL. Seriously, the benefits of environmental work cannot be monetized.
ScoreEnvironmental Service TechnicianUS Average
Salary
2.4

Avg. Salary $30,862

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 9.47%

Black or African American 9.77%

Hispanic or Latino 16.95%

Unknown 5.63%

White 57.21%

Gender

female 49.14%

male 50.86%

Age - 35
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 - 35
Stress level
6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Environmental service technician career paths

Key steps to become an environmental service technician

  1. Explore environmental service technician education requirements

    Most common environmental service technician degrees

    High School Diploma

    43.5 %

    Associate

    19.7 %

    Bachelor's

    17.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific environmental service technician skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients23.61%
    Environmental Services14.83%
    Customer Service12.03%
    Cleanliness5.50%
    Floor Care4.51%
  3. Complete relevant environmental service technician training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental 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 an environmental service technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental service technician resumes.
  4. Research environmental service technician duties and responsibilities

    • Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
    • Used extension poles, ladders, and scaffolds while cleaning walls, ceilings, wash light fixtures, change draped.
    • Enhance productivity and efficiency of departmental operations by maintaining a safe and clean environment for patients and staff.
    • Train new employees, as well as re-train per JCAHO requirements.
  5. Prepare your environmental service technician resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental 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 an environmental 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 environmental service technician resume templates

    Build a professional environmental 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 environmental service technician resume.
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
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    Environmental Service Technician Resume
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    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
    Environmental Service Technician Resume
  6. Apply for environmental service technician jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an environmental service technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first environmental service technician job

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Average environmental service technician salary

The average environmental service technician salary in the United States is $30,862 per year or $15 per hour. Environmental service technician salaries range between $25,000 and $37,000 per year.

Average environmental service technician salary
$30,862 Yearly
$14.84 hourly

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How do environmental service technicians rate their job?

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Environmental service technician reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2021
Pros

Firstly, the most important is to protect our planet for us and the future generations. Secondly our planet is not going to support the pressure and negative impacts because of the big Increased human population . Finally our planet needs more and more environmental specialists to regulate and control all human activities, especially the ilegal ones.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019
Cons

Nothing.Nothing


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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