How To Become A Sterilization Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sterilization specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a sterilization specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.43 an hour? That's $57,057 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 83,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSterilization SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,057

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.7

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.43%

Asian 9.11%

Black or African American 10.29%

Hispanic or Latino 20.83%

Unknown 4.53%

White 53.81%

Gender

female 57.69%

male 42.31%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress Level

8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.5

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.0

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sterilization specialist

Explore sterilization specialist education requirements

Most common sterilization specialist degrees

Bachelor's

33.3 %

Associate

31.1 %

High School Diploma

15.6 %

Start to develop specific sterilization specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
OSHA	17.73%
Autoclaves	13.04%
AAMI	11.98%
Sterilizers	11.03%
ISO	10.00%

Complete relevant sterilization specialist training and internships

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

Research sterilization specialist duties and responsibilities

Lead cross functional project team to build user-friendly windows base customer support applications which interface with the OmniPlan/OmniPlus mainframe application.
Facilitate the sterilization process of dental instruments in compliance with OSHA standards.
Perform steam, ETO and gamma yearly revalidations in according with ISO guidelines.
Follow OSHA requirements for disinfecting and preparing dental instruments for both the dentists and hygienists.

Apply for sterilization specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sterilization specialist 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 sterilization specialists rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Sterilization Specialist reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2021

Pros

What I like about this specialty is its contribution to achieving health for all through sterilization of surgical instruments

Cons

The absence of a bachelor’s degree for this specialization in all countries of the world. Only diplomas are held in some health facilities or courses in some independent organizations Like CBSPD &IAHCSMM there is not Bachelor Certification in Central Sterilization Not in America, not in Europe, or in other countries except for Dublin ,Ireland, I suppose as well as Everyone looks at this specialty as automatic washing machines, although without it there would be no proper surgery, and it is the beating heart of the hospital