What skills should a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Equipment Maintenance among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Route mapping software, and Web browser software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner work?

O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Drain Cleaner, Septic Pump Truck Driver, Septic Tank Service Technician, and Service Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 40% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner resume example

A resume for a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner needs to show the work itself: clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. Day to day that means work like this: communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones; drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Drain Cleaner
Septic Pump Truck Driver
Septic Tank Service Technician
Service Technician
Drain Technician
Public Works Technician
Septic Cleaner
Sewer Bricklayer
Aseptic Tech
Aseptic Technician
Drain and Sewer Technician
Electric Sewer Cleaning Machine Operator
High Reach Operator
Pipe Cleaning Machine Operator
Priming Machine Operator
Public Works Operator
Reach Operator
Roto Rooter Operator

O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones.
Drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment.
Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages.
Operate sewer cleaning equipment, including power rodders, high-velocity water jets, sewer flushers, bucket machines, wayne balls, and vac-alls.
Prepare and keep records of actions taken, including maintenance and repair work.
Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or related structures such as manholes, culverts, and catch basins.
Measure excavation sites, using plumbers' snakes, tapelines, or lengths of cutting heads within sewers, and mark areas for digging.
Service, adjust, and make minor repairs to equipment, machines, and attachments.
Locate problems, using specially designed equipment, and mark where digging must occur to reach damaged tanks or pipes.
Dig out sewer lines manually, using shovels.
Clean and disinfect domestic basements and other areas flooded by sewer stoppages.
Withdraw cables from pipes and examine them for evidence of mud, roots, grease, and other deposits indicating broken or clogged sewer lines.

22 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Operate sewer cleaning equipment, including power rodders, high-velocity water jets, sewer flushers, bucket machines, wayne balls, and vac-alls, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Intuit QuickBooks
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
Route mapping software
Web browser software
Word processing software
Work scheduling software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Air hammers
Air tampers
Bucket machines
Caulk dispensing tools
Claw hammers
Dirt shovels
End pipe wrenches
Global positioning system GPS receivers
High velocity water jetters
Liquid pumps
Material pumping hoses
Measuring tapes

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

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What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Operation and Control
02Operations Monitoring
03Critical Thinking
04Active Listening
05Equipment Maintenance
06Quality Control Analysis
07Repairing
08Time Management
09Troubleshooting

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Transportation
Mechanical
English Language
Public Safety and Security
Mathematics
Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

40%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
37%Less than a High School Diploma
22%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Little or No Preparation Needed”. Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.

Common questions

What does a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner do?: Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. Day to day that includes work like communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones and Drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment.
What skills should a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Equipment Maintenance among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Route mapping software, and Web browser software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner work?: O*NET records 28 titles for this occupation, including Drain Cleaner, Septic Pump Truck Driver, Septic Tank Service Technician, and Service Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 40% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaner role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.