AI Career Radar

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.

AI exposure48 / 100Moderate exposure

Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.

What drives the score

Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.

Degree of automation51
Freedom to set tasks75
Repeating the same tasks68
$60,020Median annual wage, U.S.BLS OEWS
-5.7%Jobs, 2025 to 2035 (decline)BLS Employment Projections
58Skill durability (moderate)Transferability, out of 100

How well your skills transfer

Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.

Highest transferability first

Both scores out of 100

Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Monitoring
63
66
Active Listening
63
53
Speaking
63
53
Critical Thinking
63
50
Judgment and Decision Making
63
50
Coordination
62
50
Complex Problem Solving
62
50
Active Learning
62
44
Reading Comprehension
61
50
Time Management
61
50
Show 25 more skills
Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Writing
60
44
Social Perceptiveness
60
44
Learning Strategies
58
44
Instructing
58
44
Systems Analysis
57
47
Systems Evaluation
56
47
Service Orientation
56
38
Persuasion
54
25
Mathematics
53
47
Science
52
41
Negotiation
52
25
Management of Personnel Resources
50
25
Operations Analysis
49
16
Installation
48
3
Equipment Maintenance
47
53
Troubleshooting
47
53
Quality Control Analysis
47
53
Equipment Selection
47
41
Management of Material Resources
47
25
Management of Financial Resources
47
16
Technology Design
47
13
Operations Monitoring
46
72
Repairing
46
53
Programming
45
16
Operation and Control
43
75

Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.

Jobs you could move to

Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.

87/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$120,230
10-yr growth
+34.6%
Skill gap
21%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Active Learning, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Critical Thinking

85/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$132,300
10-yr growth
+41%
Skill gap
31%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Service Orientation, Operations Analysis, Writing, Active Learning

84/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$135,880
10-yr growth
+21.1%
Skill gap
15%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Active Listening, Service Orientation

82/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$95,320
10-yr growth
+10.3%
Skill gap
10%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Installation, Active Listening, Troubleshooting, Active Learning

81/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$129,180
10-yr growth
+21%
Skill gap
20%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Writing, Complex Problem Solving

A second source of income, before you need it

This page can tell you where Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.

Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.

Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.