Best degree programs for Hazardous Materials Removal Workers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 14 schools train Hazardous Materials Removal Workers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $49,450 median wage, 51,710 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 14 schools train hazardous materials removal workers, graduating 118 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $49,450 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About hazardous materials removal workers
Identify, remove, pack, transport, or dispose of hazardous materials, including asbestos, lead-based paint, waste oil, fuel, transmission fluid, radioactive materials, or contaminated soil. Specialized training and certification in hazardous materials handling or a confined entry permit are generally required. May operate earth-moving equipment or trucks.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0508 | 118 | 100.0% | 14 | $36,407 | $10,250 |
Top 14 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What hazardous materials removal workers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $56,120 | 7,340 | 1.21× | 12 | 112 |
| Indianalimited | $46,680 | 990 | 0.93× | 1 | 4 |
| Kansaslimited | $45,530 | 480 | 1.01× | 1 | 2 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Build containment areas prior to beginning abatement or decontamination work.
- Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.
- Identify asbestos, lead, or other hazardous materials to be removed, using monitoring devices.
- Prepare hazardous material for removal or storage.
- Comply with prescribed safety procedures or federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.
- Load or unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
- Clean contaminated equipment or areas for reuse, using detergents or solvents, sandblasters, filter pumps, or steam cleaners.
- Remove or limit contamination following emergencies involving hazardous substances.
Skills
- Monitoring3.6
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Active Listening3.3
- Speaking3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Writing3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies2.5
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security3.6
- Administration and Management3.5
- Transportation3.4
- Customer and Personal Service3.4
- Building and Construction3.2
- Mechanical3.1
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Control Precision3.8
- Near Vision3.6
- Oral Expression3.6
- Category Flexibility3.5
Core activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.1
- Getting Information4.0
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials3.9
- Performing General Physical Activities3.9
- Handling and Moving Objects3.8
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards3.8
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Hazardous Materials Removal Worker
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Hazardous Materials Removal Workers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0508Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Hazardous Materials Removal Worker?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Technology/Technician, which awarded 118 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Hazardous Materials Removal Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 118 people a year.
How much do hazardous materials removal workers earn?+
The median is $49,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $38,460 at the 10th percentile to $82,410 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for hazardous materials removal workers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 5,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
14 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do hazardous materials removal workers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Asbestos Worker, Asbestos Remover, Asbestos Abatement Worker, Waste Handling Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 47-4041.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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