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Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator resume example

A resume for a Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator needs to show the work itself: operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater. Day to day that means work like this: add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids; collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards. 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.

  • Process Operator
  • Process Op
  • Wastewater Operator
  • WW Operator
  • Water Plant Operator
  • Water Treatment Plant Operator
  • Plant Operator
  • Relief Operator
  • SCADA Operator
  • Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator
  • WWTP Operator
  • Water Control Dispatcher
  • Water Treatment Operator
  • Basin Tender
  • Biosolids Management Technician
  • Clarifying Plant Operator
  • Disposal Operator
  • Disposal Plant Operator

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Process Operator (Process Op)
  • SCADA Operator (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Operator)
  • Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator (WWTP Operator)
  • Wastewater Operator (WW Operator)

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.

  • Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids.
  • Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards.
  • Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms.
  • Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power.
  • Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions.
  • Maintain, repair, and lubricate equipment, using hand tools and power tools.
  • Clean and maintain tanks, filter beds, and other work areas, using hand tools and power tools.
  • Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities.

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.

  • Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power, 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.

  • Compliance software
  • Data logging software
  • Database software
  • Geographic information system GIS systems
  • Human machine interface HMI software
  • Material safety data sheet MSDS software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Operating system software
  • Operational Data Store ODS software
  • Records management software

18 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

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

  • Absorption equipment
  • Aeration compressors
  • Aerators
  • Aerobic digesters
  • Agitators
  • Air monitoring equipment
  • Air strippers
  • Ammoniators
  • Ammonium analyzers
  • Anaerobic treatment equipment
  • Atomic absorption AA spectrophotometers
  • Autosamplers

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.

  • Compliance
  • Data logging

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Operations Monitoring
  2. 02Operation and Control
  3. 03Monitoring
  4. 04Active Listening
  5. 05Quality Control Analysis
  6. 06Critical Thinking
  7. 07Equipment Maintenance
  8. 08Repairing
  9. 09Speaking
  10. 10Troubleshooting

Knowledge areas

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

  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Production and Processing
  • Engineering and Technology
  • 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.

  • 42%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 25%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 21%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator do?
Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater. Day to day that includes work like add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids and Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards.
What skills should a Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator put on a resume?
O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Active Listening, and Quality Control Analysis 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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Compliance software, Data logging software, Database software, Geographic information system GIS systems, and Human machine interface HMI 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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Process Operator, Process Op, Wastewater Operator, and WW Operator. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 42% 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 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator 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.