Career Trends: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators manage a system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.

Most water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators are employed by local governments. Most operators work full time.

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators typically need a high school diploma and a license to work. They also usually undergo on-the-job training.

Employment of water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators is projected to grow 6 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job prospects are expected to be excellent.

This occupation supported 111,000 jobs in 2012 and 117,000 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 5.4%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 7.7% in 2022 to 119,600 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 112,700, compared with an observed value of 117,000, 3.8% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 6.3% in 2024 to 124,000 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 121,300 jobs for 2024, 2.2% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.