Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Liquid waste treatment plant operator to hazardous waste technician

A liquid waste treatment plant operator already meets 30% of what the hazardous waste technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From liquid waste treatment plant operator
30 % overlap
Distant match
To hazardous waste technician
14 You already bring
11 Still to learn
53 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

72.5/ 100

1 How much of what a hazardous waste technician is expected to do is already part of a liquid waste treatment plant operator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the hazardous waste technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A hazardous waste technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a liquid waste treatment plant operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • assess waste type
  • dispose of hazardous waste
  • hazardous waste storage
  • hazardous waste treatment
  • hazardous waste types
  • waste and scrap products

What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hazardous waste technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a liquid waste treatment plant operator background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held educate on hazardous waste communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held drain hazardous liquids handling and moving
  • already held assess waste type handling and moving
  • already held hazardous waste treatment services
  • already held hazardous waste types services
  • already held advise on waste management procedures communication, collaboration and creativity

All 14 carried skills, including the 6 the hazardous waste technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 39 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 services 4 required
  • still to learn characteristics of waste required
  • still to learn hazardous materials transportation required
  • still to learn contamination exposure regulations required
  • still to learn waste management required
02 handling and moving 3 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn remove contaminated materials required
  • still to learn store contaminated materials required
  • still to learn remove contaminants required
  • optional, not held clean up spilled oil optional
  • optional, not held collect industrial waste optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
  • optional, not held monitor disposal of radioactive substances optional
  • optional, not held sort waste optional
03 assisting and caring 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn follow standards for machinery safety required
  • still to learn avoid contamination required
  • still to learn ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations required
  • optional, not held follow nuclear plant safety precautions optional
  • optional, not held respond to nuclear emergencies optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with radiation protection regulations optional
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
04 information skills 1 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn assess contamination required
  • optional, not held maintain waste collection records optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
  • optional, not held monitor radiation levels optional
  • optional, not held read maps optional
05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
06 management skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
  • optional, not held develop hazardous waste management strategies optional
  • optional, not held develop radiation protection strategies optional

5 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a hazardous waste technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 14 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess waste type skill
  • already held dispose of hazardous waste skill
  • already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste treatment knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste types knowledge
  • already held waste and scrap products knowledge
  • already held advise on waste management procedures skill
  • already held document analysis results skill
  • already held drain hazardous liquids skill
  • already held educate on hazardous waste skill
  • already held pollution legislation knowledge
  • already held pollution prevention knowledge
  • already held test samples for pollutants skill
  • already held wear appropriate protective gear skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held radioactive contamination optional
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
08 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held instruct employees on radiation protection optional
09 constructing 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held test electrical equipment optional
10 health and welfare 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held radiation protection optional
11 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
28 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held clean up spilled oil optional
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
  • optional, not held follow nuclear plant safety precautions optional
  • optional, not held maintain waste collection records optional
  • optional, not held radioactive contamination optional
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held respond to nuclear emergencies optional
  • optional, not held collect industrial waste optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
  • optional, not held develop hazardous waste management strategies optional
  • optional, not held develop radiation protection strategies optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with radiation protection regulations optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations optional
  • optional, not held instruct employees on radiation protection optional
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
  • optional, not held monitor disposal of radioactive substances optional
  • optional, not held monitor radiation levels optional
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
  • optional, not held radiation protection optional
  • optional, not held read maps optional
  • optional, not held sort waste optional
  • optional, not held test electrical equipment optional
17 held skills the hazardous waste technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on soil and water protection skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse experimental laboratory data skill
  • not needed by the target role chemical processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect samples skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with waste collectors skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
  • not needed by the target role handle chemicals skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain water treatment equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role manage waste skill
  • not needed by the target role measure density of liquids skill
  • not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
  • not needed by the target role perform water treatments skill
  • not needed by the target role pump products skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise waste disposal skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise waste water treatments skill
  • not needed by the target role test chemical samples skill
  • not needed by the target role test oil samples skill
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn characteristics of waste required
  • still to learn hazardous materials transportation required
  • still to learn contamination exposure regulations required
  • still to learn waste management required
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held radioactive contamination optional
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
  • optional, not held radiation protection optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a liquid waste treatment plant operator become a hazardous waste technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A liquid waste treatment plant operator already covers 30% of what a hazardous waste technician is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 6 of which the hazardous waste technician role treats as required.

What skills does a liquid waste treatment plant operator need to become a hazardous waste technician?

11 required skills are missing, plus 28 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by services. The single most important is characteristics of waste.

How hard is the move from liquid waste treatment plant operator to hazardous waste technician?

Its learning distance is 72.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.