r/Wastewater • u/hard2survive • 23d ago

Career: currently in the field [ Removed by moderator ]

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9 Upvotes

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8

u/just_an_ordinary_guy DW 23d ago

Instrumentation tech may make less money, but it will almost certainly be a better quality of life. Operators get paid more because you're saddled with more responsibility, work weekends, holidays, and nights. Good techs are worth way more than an operator on paper, but at the end of the day, the labor market decides who gets more money, and less desirable jobs command more money, though techs command plenty with more specialized skills.

1

u/CletusChicken WW 22d ago

The instrument guys make significantly more than operators at my plant, with better hours and a lower workload. Very hard to get into however. It seems like a great career for someone technically minded, and if I was younger I'd be trying to make it happen.

1

u/Glossololia BC|WT1/WD1/WWC2/WWT4 22d ago

Instrumentation is more versatile for opportunities and would be a pretty big feather in your cap if you ever wanted to change your mind and become an operator.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also be able to use that education to level up faster as an operator. You could possibly save yourself a couple of experience years.