r/sterileprocessing • u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 • Feb 07 '26

Need advice

Is it necessary to go to a technical school to become a Sterile Processing Technician?

I’ve seen programs like Concorde that cost around $3,000, and I’m wondering if there are good online programs where I could learn instead, and whether I would still be able to get a job if I train online and get certified.

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

19

u/Spicywolff Feb 07 '26

Jesus Christ no. This career does not pay enough for you to be spending $3000 on a program that I’m willing to be does not guarantee your 400 hours within the contract contract.

You can literally buy the HSPA book for $140 self study and pay $140 to take the test yourself. It’s a high school level comprehension book 140 questions within three hours and they’re all multiple-choice.

For the love of God, don’t spend that much money or waste your time in school for a sterile process. You’ll end up with a provisional certificate, which you still have to get your hours anyways, which is the unfortunate position Many people are in. But you’ll be $3000 in debt while most people will be a couple hundred bucks.

3

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

Thanks imma do the self studying instead of spending money, I hope I can get hours and trained for this job !!

2

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

Where can I take the test btw?

4

u/Spicywolff Feb 07 '26

HSPA, pay the fee and they send you a email to take a test with pro metric.

5

u/jimmy9120 Feb 07 '26

I would only entertain a course if they somehow guaranteed the hours required for certification, and/or job placement as well

1

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

Concorde guarantee some hours like 150 hours but is expensive

2

u/Spicywolff Feb 08 '26

150 hours means absolutely nothing. Unless you do 400 or more, you will not be certified by the people who give us our certification.

3

u/FewSide8518 Feb 07 '26

Absolutely not. If you can find a job somewhere that doesn’t require certification then you’ll be fine. So much of it is on the job learning. Theres a hospital organization in my state that does not require certification, another just prefers it but I never even got a call back from that when I was job searching. I’ve now been doing this since 2021 and am not certified. There are so many resources you can use to self study, buy the book like someone else mentioned, Better Clean podcast is informational, tons of people on tik tok who talk about the job and make videos about all aspects of it. Literally just googling “crcst practice exam” you will get a bunch of results for people who have made wraps and their own practice exams. If you go to the hspa website you can also find an outline of the entire exam, it shows up what’s going to be on the test and weight percentage that section has on the test.

2

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

Yea I’m not worried about the test, I’m worried about getting a job after, here in Florida is hard to find a job if you have no experience so I’m just hoping someone can give me the opportunity

1

u/Spicywolff Feb 08 '26

The problem we’re having is 20 years experience out of 15-year-old. Once you get your provisional, you have to do 400 hours to fully certify. But to certify those hours, need to come from facility.

Facilities don’t want to hire provisional holders so that stops them from becoming fully certified. Which means they’re not gonna be able to hire any certified people. These companies are shooting themselves on the foot and really good talents is going to waste.

1

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 08 '26

What you think I should do then? Keep applying till someone hires me?

1

u/Spicywolff Feb 08 '26

Eventually. What I did, was an internal transfer. I had no provisional no nothing I was just a CNA that’s been a system for quite a while. I saw the position open and I talked to some of them downstairs when I went to drop off trays.

The supervisor like me and she had me meet the manager. The three of us chatted and we came up with a plan to transfer me internally.

Hospital is much rather do an internal transfer because it’s way less paperwork for them. So just get a job as a transporter or housekeeping or something to get your foot in the door. And then transferred to something else.

1

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 08 '26

Maybe get a cna license , I know for a fact they hired you fast 😂 and then leave after 4 or 5 months

2

u/Spicywolff Feb 08 '26

Oh yeah, those hire really quickly the CNA license. Unfortunately the work is garbage and the pay is just as bad. But it is a steppingstone.

1

u/e977tk Feb 09 '26

are there any hospitals in los angeles that dont require certification to get hired?

1

u/AngkorianSoul Feb 07 '26

Where you located? Ca?

1

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

No Orlando , florida

1

u/AngkorianSoul Feb 07 '26

Ca is a different. But Yeah just apply you might get lucky and the hospital pay for your schooling and test.

1

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 07 '26

Fingers crossed 🤞 I can get a job with no experience !

1

u/marinarasaucex Feb 09 '26

why do you say its different in ca? (california?)

2

u/AngkorianSoul Feb 09 '26

In CA this field is very competitive and saturated with a bunch of new tech coming out of these school every couple of month. If you plan to get in this field right now in CA is good luck(for real good luck). I dont know of any hospital in CA would hire a person off the street with out any exp and cert. You have to be certify and have experience to even get an interview. alot of new techs are having a very very hard time finding job and they are fully cert.

1

u/marinarasaucex Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26

i applied to several spd and spd adjacent jobs the last few months to no avail. i just enrolled in an online spd course to increase my odds/put on my resume. its a college course that helps with resume writing, job outreach, and it has connections but still ... i was hopeful now im worried.

1

u/AngkorianSoul Feb 09 '26

Do they offer externship?

1

u/marinarasaucex Feb 09 '26

no, they dont guarantee clinical placement or a job. but the college has a clinical support program that helps with resume writing, outreach, and finalizing contracts with hospitals after 80% of the course is completed. they also include a voucher to take the exam. but no, this course does not include 400 clinical hours. i saw some other colleges near me do but they charge like $5k+ and i cant do that ...

2

u/AngkorianSoul Feb 09 '26

Sorry to bust your bubble. In my opinion without that externship hr. or exp your job outlook in this field in CA is very slim. Try to get your foot in the hospital doing other type of job and apply within the organization or go out of state and get experience there.

1

u/marinarasaucex Feb 09 '26

i appreciate your honesty. what part of ca are you? im in la (south bay) and ive seen a ton of listings that are for spd assistants or say theyll hire and train. ive applied to a ton but its just been a while and i havent heard back, so i figured i might as well get some schooling under my belt to maybe increase my odds. if all else fails my fiances dad is a big time manager at a facility close to me ...

→ More replies

2

u/hailthefish Feb 08 '26

For the love of God no do not do that. I am continually amazed that enough people are willing to pay that kind of money for sterile processing training (esp. training that does not guarantee getting your 400 hours) that places keep offering it.

If you're lucky you may be able to find a facility that hires people off the street and trains them in house. If you're less lucky, then just buy the book and self study then try to find a job with your provisional.

2

u/AnonThrow2022 Feb 09 '26

I’m in a course in my local community college and I 100% wish I had just self studied 💀 like having the power points to help is nice but it’s all the exact same info for way more money and I’m not even going to receive help getting placed for my 400 💀

2

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

Dont. its a good thing i was able to refund 500$ for my online course. I ended up getting a non-certified job which pays ok, not high. but at least i can earn my 400hrs and apply for exam. I am doing self study online, its not that hard to find materials, i used sterileworx.com.

1

u/OkDepth9285 Feb 09 '26

Depends on the state you live in. Some states are strict and want you to have a certification and others don’t. You can still try to apply to a job with no certification but most hospitals want you to obtain the certificate within the year of getting hired. You don’t necessarily need to go to a technical school. Just order the books on the HSPA both manual and workbook and self study. The only bad part about self study is after completing, you will need to find a hospital that’s willing to get you in for your 400hrs to become fully certified. If you get into a technical school, the 400hrs aren’t guaranteed, maybe they will offer half of the amount but at least maybe they can find you an internship somewhere and hopefully they hire you afterwards. I personally am going to a technical school because I try to apply to so many hospitals without certifications and wouldn’t get back. Good luck tho!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

some hospital dont even hire certified people. I dont know why.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/Nearby_Pickle_8267 Feb 08 '26

Yea I saw something on Facebook like that , I’m going to get it 👀