Careers / Medical Equipment Preparers
Medical Equipment Preparers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$47,700
United States, 2025
Employment
77,420
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment.
- O*NET code
- 31-9093.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Examine equipment to detect leaks, worn or loose parts, or other indications of disrepair.
- Check sterile supplies to ensure that they are not outdated.
- Record sterilizer test results.
- Organize and assemble routine or specialty surgical instrument trays or other sterilized supplies, filling special requests as needed.
- Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
- Clean instruments to prepare them for sterilization.
- Disinfect and sterilize equipment, such as respirators, hospital beds, or oxygen or dialysis equipment, using sterilizers, aerators, or washers.
- Purge wastes from equipment by connecting equipment to water sources and flushing water through systems.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$36,410
25th percentile
$39,800
75th percentile
$58,570
90th percentile
$69,950
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Quality Control Analysis3.4
- Monitoring3.4
- Operations Monitoring3.3
- Active Listening3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Troubleshooting3.1
- Coordination3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 12 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
12
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.4 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Monitoring | 3.4 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Speaking | 3.1 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.1 | 2.6 | Not selected | 2.6 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
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Compare with Medical Equipment PreparersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo, CA | $82,610 | 140 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $82,140 | 1,070 | 2025 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $81,370 | 50 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $81,090 | 540 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $79,490 | 680 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $75,800 | 60 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $67,830 | 630 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $61,870 | 910 | 2025 |
| Redding, CA | $61,840 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $61,370 | 8,720 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $61,160 | 40 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $61,060 | 100 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $60,980 | 150 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $60,840 | 1,310 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $60,490 | 70 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $60,380 | 100 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $59,560 | 800 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $59,520 | 3,010 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $58,870 | 5,270 | 2025 |
| WA | $58,830 | 1,670 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Medical Equipment Preparers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.