Incinerator and water treatment plant operators
In the ILO's assessment few of the job's tasks can be done by generative AI, or the scores are too spread out to reach gradient 1 — generative AI does not meaningfully take over the core of the work.
Exposure is not job loss: it shows how much of the work generative AI could do today. Whether that turns into transformation, productivity gains or cuts depends on employers, regulation — and on you.
0 = today’s generative AI cannot perform any of the job’s tasks, 100 = it could do all of them fully. The pale band is the spread across tasks.
Work out your own score ↓What can you do?
The AI analysis for this occupation is still being prepared — the background process covers a few occupations every day.
Task by task
The ILO scored every task of the occupation separately, as the average of two AI models (GPT-4o and Gemini). The pale band is the range between the two models' scores, the dot the ILO's final score (for a few tasks expert review placed it outside the band).
- Completing and maintaining plant logs and reports.45
- Inspecting equipment and monitoring operating conditions, meters, filters, chlorinators and gauges in central control room to determine load requirements, to verify that flows, pressures and temperatures are within specification, and to detect malfunctions32
- Operating and monitoring computerized control systems, machinery and related equipment in wastewater treatment, sewage treatment, and liquid waste plants to regulate flow, treatment and disposal of sewage and wastes, and in water filtration and treatment plants to regulate the treatment and distribution of water for human consumption and for later disposal into natural water systems27
- Monitoring and adjusting controls of auxiliary equipment, such as exhaust emissions, scrubbers and incinerator heat recovery units27
- Analysing test results to make adjustments to plant equipment and systems to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids26
- Collecting and testing water and sewage samples for chemical and bacterial content, using test equipment and colour analysis standards20
- Performing security and safety checks in plant and on grounds19
- Controlling the operation of multiple-hearth incinerator furnaces and related equipment to burn sludge and solid waste in waste treatment plants18
How much does it affect you?
Every job is different: mark which of these tasks you do and how much, and we'll compute your own, time-weighted score.
For each task: I don't do it · sometimes · most of my job.
- Completing and maintaining plant logs and reports.(45)
- Inspecting equipment and monitoring operating conditions, meters, filters, chlorinators and gauges in central control room to determine load requirements, to verify that flows, pressures and temperatures are within specification, and to detect malfunctions(32)
- Operating and monitoring computerized control systems, machinery and related equipment in wastewater treatment, sewage treatment, and liquid waste plants to regulate flow, treatment and disposal of sewage and wastes, and in water filtration and treatment plants to regulate the treatment and distribution of water for human consumption and for later disposal into natural water systems(27)
- Monitoring and adjusting controls of auxiliary equipment, such as exhaust emissions, scrubbers and incinerator heat recovery units(27)
- Analysing test results to make adjustments to plant equipment and systems to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids(26)
- Collecting and testing water and sewage samples for chemical and bacterial content, using test equipment and colour analysis standards(20)
- Performing security and safety checks in plant and on grounds(19)
- Controlling the operation of multiple-hearth incinerator furnaces and related equipment to burn sludge and solid waste in waste treatment plants(18)
You are exactly at the occupation average. (The occupation's score: 27.)
About 0% of your working time goes to highly exposed tasks (score ≥ 50).
- • Completing and maintaining plant logs and reports.
- • Inspecting equipment and monitoring operating conditions, meters, filters, chlorinators and gauges in central control room to determine load requirements, to verify that flows, pressures and temperatures are within specification, and to detect malfunctions
- • Controlling the operation of multiple-hearth incinerator furnaces and related equipment to burn sludge and solid waste in waste treatment plants
- • Performing security and safety checks in plant and on grounds
An estimate from the ILO task scores. Everything is computed in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
How many people work in this occupational group?
Share of the Science and engineering associate professionals group in total employment, by country (Eurostat, ISCO 2-digit — 4-digit breakdowns are not public by country).
Table view
| Country | Science and engineering associate professionals |
|---|---|
| Slovakia | 5.4% · 140 thousand · 2025 |
| Austria | 4.9% · 222 thousand · 2025 |
| Norway | 4.8% · 141 thousand · 2025 |
| Sweden | 4.8% · 254 thousand · 2025 |
| Czechia | 4.7% · 247 thousand · 2025 |
| Denmark | 4.7% · 143 thousand · 2025 |
| Croatia | 4.5% · 77 thousand · 2025 |
| Switzerland | 4.4% · 214 thousand · 2025 |
| Germany | 4.1% · 1,722 thousand · 2025 |
| Italy | 3.8% · 902 thousand · 2025 |
| Poland | 3.7% · 635 thousand · 2025 |
| Finland | 3.7% · 95 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovenia | 3.6% · 36 thousand · 2025 |
| Belgium | 3.5% · 180 thousand · 2025 |
| Malta | 3.5% · 12 thousand · 2025 |
| France | 3.3% · 965 thousand · 2025 |
| Bulgaria | 3.2% · 92 thousand · 2025 |
| Hungary | 3.1% · 146 thousand · 2025 |
| Estonia | 3.0% · 21 thousand · 2025 |
| Latvia | 2.9% · 26 thousand · 2025 |
| Netherlands | 2.8% · 273 thousand · 2025 |
| Portugal | 2.4% · 127 thousand · 2025 |
| Iceland | 2.3% · 5 thousand · 2025 |
| Spain | 2.3% · 517 thousand · 2025 |
| Lithuania | 2.1% · 31 thousand · 2025 |
| Cyprus | 1.9% · 10 thousand · 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 1.9% · 642 thousand · 2025 |
| Ireland | 1.7% · 47 thousand · 2025 |
| Romania | 1.4% · 106 thousand · 2025 |
| Greece | 1.2% · 54 thousand · 2025 |
What do they earn?
Mean gross monthly earnings in the major occupational group (Technicians and associate professionals). Eurostat's earnings survey only publishes pay by occupation at 1 digit, so this is the job's broader group. Enterprises with 10+ employees, 2022.
By country, at purchasing power parity (PPS/month), so countries with different price levels can be compared.
- Switzerland5,280
- Luxembourg4,320
- Norway4,307
- Denmark4,301
- Ireland4,024
- Belgium3,903
- Iceland3,856
- Germany3,608
- Austria3,399
- Netherlands3,247
- EU273,226
- Italy3,127
- Sweden3,089
- Finland2,971
- France2,687
- Spain2,685
- Slovenia2,660
- Cyprus2,537
- Lithuania2,472
- Malta2,464
- Romania2,310
- Poland2,294
- Czechia2,275
- Estonia2,251
- Croatia2,127
- Latvia2,081
- Hungary2,054
- Greece2,050
- Portugal2,044
- Slovakia2,027
- Bulgaria1,738
Source: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey (earn_ses22_21), every four years. The United Kingdom is not covered by the survey.
Outlook to 2035
Employment in the Science and engineering associate professionals group according to Cedefop's 2026 forecast.
thousand · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · 2026–2035: projection
Replacement demand is the jobs left by people retiring or changing careers — even a shrinking occupation can have many openings.
Related occupations
Sources: ILO WP140 (2025) · Eurostat lfsa_egai2d · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · WEF Future of Jobs 2025 · ESCO. The exposure score measures how much of an occupation's tasks generative AI could perform — not whether the job disappears. For information only, not career advice. How do we calculate this?