Best programs to become a medical equipment preparer
You do not need a college degree to become a medical equipment preparer. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Sterile Processing Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 105 schools trains medical equipment preparers, graduating 2,477 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $47,700 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About medical equipment preparers
Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment.
Best programs to study to become a medical equipment preparer
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 | Sterile Processing Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 51.1012 | 2,477 | 100.0% | 105 | $49,401 | $19,848 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
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.
What medical equipment preparers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $45,890 | 5,250 | 1.06× | 16 | 386 |
| Wisconsin | $47,570 | 1,380 | 0.94× | 6 | 279 |
| Texas | $46,970 | 4,520 | 0.65× | 6 | 203 |
| California | $61,370 | 8,720 | 0.96× | 6 | 201 |
| Michigan | $45,670 | 2,420 | 1.10× | 8 | 199 |
| Illinois | $48,050 | 2,800 | 0.92× | 9 | 153 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $45,820 | 3,450 | 1.14× | 2 | 153 |
| Arizonamoderate | $46,790 | 2,320 | 1.44× | 4 | 145 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $50,070 | 1,390 | 0.95× | 3 | 95 |
| Colorado | $47,700 | 1,950 | 1.36× | 5 | 72 |
| Ohio | $45,540 | 3,210 | 1.16× | 6 | 69 |
| Washington | $58,830 | 1,670 | 0.94× | 5 | 68 |
| Louisiana | $35,960 | 620 | 0.64× | 6 | 62 |
| New Jerseymoderate | $50,280 | 2,440 | 1.14× | 3 | 60 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $46,990 | 1,590 | 0.97× | 4 | 59 |
| New Mexicolimited | $36,720 | 300 | 0.70× | 1 | 38 |
| Massachusettslimited | $58,580 | 1,900 | 1.05× | 1 | 37 |
| Missourilimited | $43,480 | 1,970 | 1.35× | 1 | 37 |
| New Yorklimited | $57,320 | 5,190 | 1.08× | 2 | 31 |
| Nevadalimited | $46,640 | 510 | 0.67× | 2 | 28 |
| Indianalimited | $45,210 | 1,750 | 1.10× | 1 | 21 |
| South Carolinalimited | $42,510 | 1,160 | 1.01× | 1 | 18 |
| Utahlimited | $47,980 | 600 | 0.70× | 1 | 14 |
| North Carolinalimited | $45,130 | 2,900 | 1.18× | 2 | 10 |
| Kansaslimited | $45,280 | 740 | 1.04× | 1 | 5 |
| Virginialimited | $46,580 | 1,840 | 0.90× | 1 | 2 |
| Wyominglimited | $48,210 | 120 | 0.83× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
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
- Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
- Clean instruments to prepare them for sterilization.
- Record sterilizer test results.
- Organize and assemble routine or specialty surgical instrument trays or other sterilized supplies, filling special requests as needed.
- Examine equipment to detect leaks, worn or loose parts, or other indications of disrepair.
- Report defective equipment to appropriate supervisors or staff.
- Maintain records of inventory or equipment usage and order medical instruments or supplies when inventory is low.
- Stock crash carts or other medical supplies.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Monitoring3.4
- Active Listening3.3
- Speaking3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Writing2.9
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.5
- English Language3.9
- Biology3.4
- Production and Processing3.2
- Public Safety and Security3.1
- Administrative3.0
Abilities
- Near Vision3.9
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Oral Comprehension3.6
- Manual Dexterity3.3
- Finger Dexterity3.3
- Deductive Reasoning3.3
Core activities
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.7
- Documenting/Recording Information4.6
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.6
- Processing Information4.5
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
How to get in
How to become a medical equipment preparer
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Medical Equipment Preparers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.1012Sterile Processing 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 medical equipment preparer?+
You do not need a college degree to become a medical equipment preparer. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Sterile Processing Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a medical equipment preparer?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Sterile Processing Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 2,477 people a year.
How much do medical equipment preparers earn?+
The median is $47,700 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $36,410 at the 10th percentile to $69,950 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 medical equipment preparers growing?+
BLS projects a +10.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 10,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
105 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program 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 medical equipment preparers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Central Service Technician (CST), Central Sterile Supply Technician (CSS Technician), Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST), Sterile Processing Technician (Sterile Processing Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 31-9093.
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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