Also called: Water Treatment Plant Operators
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators build operation and control, operations monitoring and quality control analysis skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators (88%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators | 88% | $77,320 | +29% | None |
| 2 | Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders | 84% | $58,040 | −3% | None |
| 3 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers | 82% | $61,770 | +3% | None |
| 4 | Wellhead Pumpers | 80% | $69,960 | +17% | None |
| 5 | Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 77% | $51,610 | −14% | None |
| 6 | Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 76% | $54,430 | −9% | None |
| 7 | Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers | 76% | $60,600 | +1% | None |
| 8 | Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders | 75% | $58,870 | −2% | None |
| 9 | Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation | 74% | $92,100Pay for the broader BLS group “Transportation Inspectors” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Pile Driver Operators | 74% | $73,300 | +22% | None |
Compared with Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, median $60,020. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
88% skill match · $77,320 · +29% pay
Technology Design · Negotiation · Persuasion
84% skill match · $58,040 · −3% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Operations Analysis
82% skill match · $61,770 · +3% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Persuasion · Technology Design
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators (88% skill match, median $77,320), Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders (84% skill match, median $58,040) and Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers (82% skill match, median $61,770), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 10 pay more than water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at the median. The biggest increases: Nuclear Technicians (+84%, $110,240), Locomotive Engineers (+36%, $81,410) and Roof Bolters, Mining (+31%, $78,540).
24 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.