Sterile services technician
Also called disinfection assistant
Sterile services technicians ensure decontamination of medical devices in compliance with strict hygienic procedures. They dismantle and re-assemble sophisticated medical equipment through sterilising, cleaning, and repackaging it for further usage, under supervision, following the orders of the doctor of medicine or other qualified medical personnel.
What you'd do
Personal care workers in health services not elsewhere classified · ILO- Cleaning and sterilizing surgical, dental and pharmaceutical instruments, bottles, beakers and other equipment
- Labelling drugs, chemicals and other pharmaceutical preparations and replenishing stock on shelves
- Lifting, turning and moving patients and transporting them in wheelchairs or on moveable beds
- Preparing patients for examination or treatment
- Setting up instrument trays, preparing materials, and assisting dentists or radiographers during procedures
- Exposing diagnostic X-rays
- Indoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Constant contact with people
- Good freedom to decide
- Usually 40 hours a week
- Deadlines every day
- Very repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Average prospectsA typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €900 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,700 (Luxembourg), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Upper secondary or vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training in medical diagnostic and treatment technology is the usual route.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.15 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 6 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for personal care workers in health services not elsewhere classified. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).