How To Become A Hazardous Material Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a hazardous material technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average hazardous material technician salary is $48,403. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an fire science and protection major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a hazardous material technician. Hazardous material technicians with a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHazardous Material TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,403

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.19%

Asian 2.24%

Black or African American 9.98%

Hispanic or Latino 26.03%

Unknown 3.11%

White 55.45%

Gender

female 9.52%

male 90.48%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a hazardous material technician

Explore hazardous material technician education requirements

Most common hazardous material technician degrees

Bachelor's

30.8 %

Associate

28.0 %

High School Diploma

24.9 %

Start to develop specific hazardous material technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	15.48%
Hazardous Materials Incidents	13.35%
Hazardous Waste	11.29%
Hazmat	10.40%
Emergency Response	7.74%

Complete relevant hazardous material technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hazardous material 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 hazardous material technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hazardous material technician resumes.

Research hazardous material technician duties and responsibilities

Manage, schedule, and analyze, logistics in highly specialize local, national and international supply chain logistics department.
Develop and manage explosive inspection and quality assurance processes and provide SME guidance for management of hazardous and non-hazardous material storage.
Lead a mold remediation team as well perform asbestos abatement along with general demolition and reconstruction in residential and commercial structures.
Assist in team training and OSHA compliance.

Prepare your hazardous material technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hazardous material 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 hazardous material 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 hazardous material technician resume templates

Build a professional hazardous material 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 hazardous material technician resume.

Apply for hazardous material technician jobs

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

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

How do hazardous material technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Hazardous material technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2024

Pros

The work is exciting and it is extremely rewarding to know that you are having such a big impact on the environment. You truly believe you are saving the world.

Cons

The work wears you down physically and mentally. After working on so many spills that are clearly the fault carelessness and disregard for fault of a careless person or organization. Leaves little hope for the future of our planet.