How To Become A Solid Waste Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a solid waste technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a solid waste technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.83 an hour? That's $49,561 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 3,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSolid Waste TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,561

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 9.79%

Black or African American 9.39%

Hispanic or Latino 16.63%

Unknown 5.65%

White 57.56%

Gender

female 13.85%

male 86.15%

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

Key steps to become a solid waste technician

Explore solid waste technician education requirements

Most common solid waste technician degrees

High School Diploma

44.0 %

Associate

24.0 %

Bachelor's

16.0 %

Complete relevant solid waste technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New solid waste 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 solid waste technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real solid waste technician resumes.

Research solid waste technician duties and responsibilities

Provide cleaning services for bio-hazard recovery including homicides and suicides following appropriate regulatory waste standards and OSHA requirements.
Operate automated and semi-automate hoisting devices.

Prepare your solid waste technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your solid waste 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 solid waste 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 solid waste technician resume templates

Build a professional solid waste 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 solid waste technician resume.

Apply for solid waste technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a solid waste 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 solid waste technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Solid waste technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2024

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.