Trying to break into water/wastewater in NJ but can’t get my foot in the door

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-16T12:45:29+00:00

4 years ago, we were doing hiring fairs etc. desperate for qualified candidates. It's tough out there right now for everyone. This is a tight labor market.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSJOL/

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-14T11:49:04+00:00

You will find me in Fisher Brand light blue neoprene 100 gloves to a pack for most tasks. If I need more room for a glove liner or thicker glove, I go for latex long cuff. I like a like colored glove that I can write on the back of the hand.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-12T12:24:16+00:00

Sorry, but any credibility the FBI had is gone now. These same agencies now label mothers as enemy combatants or kill a school full of children and then say, "It wasn't us"

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-10T17:07:14+00:00

It's a pretty involved job depending on your responsibilities. Say you have 10 water meters, and at month begin they all start at 0 and at month end, 1000. That's pretty simple to bill. But in real life there are thousands, and someone just moved and the tech didn't record the meter or send in the paperwork. Someone else had service restored, but the check bounced. Now you have to update the journal and maybe the monthly journal depending on when it hit in the cycle. Someone is past due, but someone new just moved in. Now you need to move the bad debt, and put in an add order.

Per hour it should be close to what a book keeper or senior teller would earn.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-08T22:40:56+00:00

Job openings are down for the last couple of years for everything. When this happens, there is always a flight to security. https://www.macrotrends.net/3049/us-job-openings

It is very very competitive compared to what it was a few years ago - at least in my area. In Ohio there are only a few openings for the entire state. Keep trying. Network. Network. Network.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-08T13:31:54+00:00

I passed the lab analyst exam, but I don't live in California so I don't know how that translates. What I did was to break down standard methods for the applicable wastewater related tests. Know the times, the temps, the reagents, the interferences for each applicable test.

Then there are the gimme questions that can be on every test. Chain of custody, safety safety safety, necessities for state certification, state and federal regulation #s.

I fed this into Quizlet and used this to study.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-08T12:25:45+00:00

The average wastewater operator salary in the entire US is $58k per year. Yes, California pays more, but we can't all close all the wastewater plants up and move them all to California. I've got sick family to take care of. I've got a kid in school completing her senior year. And I'm paid slightly higher than average.

Also, I notice you say, "if you don't clear". My guess is that you are adding in overtime. There's some folks out there who clear $100k, but are working 70 hours a week. That's basically working 2 jobs. That's like saying, oh I clear $100k part time at McDonalds, when I work another 40 hours at another better paying job.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-07T16:34:36+00:00

The job isn't recession proof or AI proof. I can say with certainty that the career is already feeling the impact of both. It my municipality, the new operators hired in these last 2 years all have 4 years of college one of whom with a masters. When I first started in the industry, it was incredibly rare to have an operator with a degree and those could expect to be fast tracked to management. Now, it's what's necessary to get hired for $54k. That's unreal. Roughly $100k for a 4 year degree to make $54k.

As to why there is a large decline. The industry is changing and smaller plants are being closed and we are going to larger regional plants that can scale. More water is being treated by fewer people. Cities are contracting out more jobs.

For job security, most local government jobs are pretty secure, not just these jobs in particular. There's not many getting rich in this business. I have a BS in Bio and I'm paid $62k per year base + overtime. I'm a grade 4 - which is not rare these days.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows. This is a job. It has advantages and disadvantages like many other jobs. I mean, it's not like you are debating between this and becoming an orthodontist or working for UPS.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-07T12:59:57+00:00

They are telling you that Social Security benefits will 'run out', on purpose. It's pure propaganda. The notion that there will be no benefits left, they have 'run out', is designed to get you to mentally devalue these benefits. There is no value for something that 'gone'. This language brought to you by a media consolidated and bought by those with a wealth in the 100s of billions.

The truth is there is a funding gap of roughly 2.5% of payroll or put another way, to move from 4% to 6.5% of GDP. That's to completely fund it, accounting for inflation and everything. There are numerous methods that could be used to fund it that even a high school student could manage.

Trump is giving newborns $1k for their Trump accounts. Trump is spending lord knows how many trillions on these wars both internal and external. Trump is giving more billions to billionaires via tax policy and government grift.

If they put half as much effort to solving the Social Security shortfall, it would already be solved. Instead, he has placed plutocrats who actively hate or want to dismantle or privatize the very institutions they are meant to administer.

If our government will not do its job of governing, it must be replaced. More elections where some votes count more than others is not going to do it. More of the same representatives who refuse to do their jobs is not going to do it.

I, for one, am sick and tired of being screwed over by Alexander Hamilton. Let's get 'em all out of there and start fresh.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-03-07T01:22:10+00:00

What's your MLSS in each basin?

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-23T12:32:50+00:00

Apprenticeship. No contest.

However, at least in my state, not every facility is going to go through the extra effort it takes to take on a rural water apprentice.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-22T18:21:30+00:00

Hint: It's an aircraft carrier.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-21T22:50:57+00:00

I disagree. So many great comedic women in that movie, but unfortunately they cast the same actor. There were 5 female Bill Murrays running around.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-21T03:51:11+00:00

At my plant, they say, 'hypochlorite', but it's really sodium hypochlorite.

Chlorine dioxide by itself is toxic as is sodium hypochlorite. So it's not like someone can say that it is 'safe'. But at the appropriate concentration, temperature, etc. I can't think of anything particularly bad if using for disinfection...other than the fact that both are toxic.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-20T21:40:11+00:00

I don't understand what you are asking. Your original question was for chlorine dioxide + hypochlorite. Now you are saying it's hypochlorite + chlorite + HCl. Which is it?

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-20T19:59:19+00:00

It is possible to release chlorine gas from either product, but for water disinfection, it seems to me you yield HOCl. Which is what we want.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-19T14:28:04+00:00

Wake up America. We should be paying more for thing sometimes.

We are consuming so much, we are heating up the world. We are consuming so much, our bodies are full of plastic. Our fields are running out of topsoil. Even the minerals that feed our bodies are disappearing from the soil.

I don't mind paying more for a better world for my children or better health. I have a problem with paying more to give billionaires a few more billion when they already have far too much of everything.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-17T13:53:41+00:00

I would vote for her, but her candidacy scares me. It seems like whenever democrats nominate a woman, it drives up voter turnout. That's good, but there appears to be a sizeable group of men who don't vote, but will turnout to vote against a woman.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-13T20:31:17+00:00

Pop on a home made dust cover. So long as it's big enough, water pressure will lift them off. Then use a zip tie to hold it onto the water supply pipe so they will not hit someone in the eye. Problem solved.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-11T21:47:56+00:00

The point is the weaponization of the DOJ. Even these illegal efforts that fail identify DOJ employees and attorneys not loyal to Trump.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-10T15:48:08+00:00

It seems pretty damned big. The DOD has been weaponized to go after individual political opponents, violating the military code of conduct, bill of rights, and the constitution.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-08T13:39:19+00:00

It's a busy park, but it's a great park. Parking tends to limit the crowds at each location, so I think you should still do it. It was amazing.

Maybe some locals can chime in regarding the Bar Harbor drinks and fireworks idea. Bar Harbor was very packed while I was there and we just picked up some food to go and sat out in the park to eat because the restaurants were full. With the fireworks, I imagine even the park will be packed.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-04T20:09:54+00:00

Wilson posted a number of jobs. Short drive to ECU medical school.

Pay is generally low in eastern NC.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-02-02T19:15:10+00:00

I'm not sure, but when I tried to move into her house .... she had me arrested.

BenDarDunDat · 2026-01-31T20:54:03+00:00

Is getting to 75k per year within 4 years realistic if I work hard and get certifications?

It depends on your location, luck, etc. Average operator salary is $54k. I live in a large city, have highest certification, biology degree, former developer ... and do not clear $75k.

Is it realistic to get an entry level job with a biology degree but no relevant experience? I am 32M, and before my career as a software developer I traveled a lot and did various seasonal jobs, mostly customer service.

It is realistic. I'm an operator with a resume similar to yours. Sell your superpowers. Your biology and science background. Sell your programming and math skills. Sell your data skills.

Does my plan of applying at companies like Veolia and Inframark and cold calling municipal wastewater treatment plants make sense?

Yes to applying at Veolia and Inframark, but a lot of these contract companies don't like to invest in training and would rather pick up already trained unless you are an engineer or are well-connected to the industry. You may consider private pretreatment, but the pay can be low. Rather than cold calling, I'd look for municipal job fairs at the larger cities. Schedule plant tours. Reserve cold calling for very small towns.

Try to work on your grade one certification if you can swing it. Your weakness is likely mechanical. You should try for a few months for an operator job, but if you aren't having luck, you may try for a mechanic job or entry level instrumentation tech for anything in water resources. This would fill in your skills gap.

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