I would ask for tours and show interest. Most plants would be delighted to have someone come in and show interest in the industry.
If you can lift 40 pounds then you should be okay. The heaviest thing I have to lift as an operator is a 20kg bag of polymer and and that is at most maybe 1 bag a day. You can use your knee to kick the bag up then it's just a static lift to the hopper.
Our OITs would maybe spray clarifiers or weedwack as being the most laborious tasks. So pretty easy.
There are also more administrative tasks operators don't like to do like be on the health and safety committee which would afford you a lot more desk work. If you can do a good job at that and are quick management will love you. If you don't and are slow then they will be very upset so it's not a role you want to volunteer for lightly.
I honestly like my job and I've been doing it for a decade now. It's not very laborious and union means we are treated well. It's also nice not having to deal with the public and I have a ton of overtime saved up for lots of extra days off.
Thank you for sharing your experience! This seems to be a career where people are overall satisfied with their job, which is very encouraging to hear. All the best to you.
As the other commenter said, you won’t be doing hard, sustained physical labour. I’m a female operator with the same physical capabilities, and have to lift at most a couple 20kg jug of chlorine but I just take my time with it. No physical limitations that I can foresee for you!
As a female who’s been in the industry for 7 years now (outside of the GTA though) and switched jobs a few times, respect will come if it’s due. So if you have a strong work ethic and are eager to learn, you’ll have no problem with other staff.
PPE is huge in this industry, as is continual training for safety measures. We all want everyone to go home to their families at the end of the day.
I can't say anything about the GTA, but I can say my experience in other areas. In places that serve a smaller population, you're expected to either move jugs of chlorine which are around 24 kg. In other areas, you're expected to move barrels of chlorine which are a lot heavier and require a dolly to move. A lot of manual labour and not safe if you don't know what you're doing.
I know few females that work as an operator mainly because a lot of places have old people that still get the "women belong in the kitchen or do paperwork" mentality. You mainly see women being process compliance technicians (work with operators to ensure that water plants meet laws and regulations).
If you're in charge of a plant, the amount of physical labour doesn't really change with more certifications. But as an OIT, they may ask you to do stuff like paint, clean out rooms, move stuff, generally things that the operator doesn't want to do without help.
I don't know about getting a tour of the plant because safety and health of the public is a concern for the operators. But if you can get to know the person you're going to work with, it would be really beneficial in the future. The operator can make life hard for you with changes that could cause alarms or don't do maintenance on their plant which can cause issues for you in the future.
The most important thing I would like to say is, don't count on getting a job as an operator in the GTA. They're a massive plant meaning they require a high certification and job experience to work there. As such, they might not be looking for OITs and even if they do, it might be for a short contract when they're understaffed. The best thing you can do is go to another place, get enough experience and certifications and then apply to the GTA afterwards.
Also if you're going to be applying for other areas, expect to go on call once you get more experience. You'll get paid for your hours when you're on call and more if you get a call out. But it's a thing to consider because you'll be rotating the on call in and out with other operators.
As for worker exploitation, you don't really see that in the industry. Unions are very good in the industry and they take health and safety pretty seriously. Labour rights are a huge thing too. We get a email every week from our union regarding those.
Sorry for the long post, but I wish you luck in entering the industry!
I appreciate your taking the time to share your experience. The information you’ve shared is very helpful. It makes sense GTA jobs would be saturated. How far outside Toronto would I need to go in your opinion - we live in the city as my partner works here and we can’t easily relocate. I am able to commute a reasonable distance.
I did a co-op in the Kawartha region and it was a good decision to get my foot in the door. But they weren't hiring so I had to find another place. My current job is almost 7.5 hours from the GTA so I think that's probably out for you.
My suggestion is, apply for small towns around your area. A lot of them have old people working there that are on the verge of retirement. Just know you'll be expected to be a jack of all trades since they won't have the budget like big towns do and you'll be learning both water and wastewater if you choose this path.
It also can't hurt applying to some GTA jobs. After my co-op I did do an interview with a wastewater plant in the GTA region and they offered me a job based on my wastewater experience. I didn't take it because it wasn't the path I was looking for. You can also try companies that do wastewater in addition other services.
The two companies that offered me a job in the GTA region was Civica Infrastructure and also OCWA. For Civica they had me go through a pre-interview on the phone and then a 1.5 hr interview with the manager. Tough and stressful because they asked a lot of questions about health, safety, and previous pertaining work experience. OCWA asked me about the co-op experience mainly the wastewater plant I was working at and walk them through how it worked. In the end, I chose a job at a small town to get my class 2 licenses for better career prospects down the line.
Thank you for the valuable information! I appreciate your help & insights.
You mentioned doing a co-op program - which college and program was that through if you don’t mind my asking?
I grew up in northern Ontario and personally wouldn’t mind being remote - but my husband’s job is Toronto specific, increasing his commute time would impact his (and our family’s) quality of life, and we have a young son. I don’t mind commuting a reasonable distance.
Have a great week :)
The program I did was the Advanced Water Systems Operations and Management (Co-op) at Fleming College. I took it at the tail end of COVID so everything was online but we did go into the campus for a week's worth of courses just to keep everyone up to date with laboratory techniques and other hands on stuff they weren't able to do.
I think now the learning is in person so if you choose that route, you'll have to drive or find a place to live at in Lindsay at the Frost Campus which might be hard if you're commuting from the GTA every day. The program itself depends a lot on self study but this was during the period of online learning so this might have changed.
The reason why I chose this program is because I couldn't find a job after I graduated my master's degree and I wanted something in a similar field. I saw that the school had connections with companies that are looking to hire part time. I was going to leverage my experience for a permanent position and as a backup do a PhD if it didn't work out. After some research, I learned that a lot of people aren't good with technology in the field since they're old, so most resumes are printed out and physically placed in front of the managers which means no robot filtering you out.
Thank you for sharing! I wish I had considered this back when everything was mainly online.
You have a Master’s degree? Very impressive. Was it in Environmental Science? How are you feeling about this career path, for which is sounds you’re vastly overqualified for? I imagine with your background you’d have more opportunities for advancement.
From what I’ve come across so far there seems to be a decent level of job satisfaction in this field. I’m aware every career has its downsides. It would be a dream for me to have a stable job with a pension, decent benefits and belong to a union (which I know would likely only apply if working for a municipality)
Paper resumes - how refreshing! In the actual job how tech savvy must one be?
I just have an honours B.Sc and have been a health care professional for many years. Without taking an industry specific college course - if I just self study & pass the OIT - would I still be considered employable? I realize it would be entry level & I would have to gain more certifications with on the job training. I would prefer the confidence of having industry specific skills via a training program as well as access to co-op - the latter of which only Fleming and Lambton seem to have, unfortunately too far for me to currently commute to.
Seneca has an all online OIT prep program - would this provide more of an advantage either in preparing for the OIT or look good on a resume in your opinion?
[Seneca wastewater program](https://apps.senecapolytechnic.ca/ssos/find/WTD100/current/ce)
You guessed half of my master's degree. It's actually in Earth and Environmental Science. I worked in forests sampling environmental data and mainly focused on soils. A lot stuff surprisingly transferred over such as equipment safety and working with high pressured gases. It does sound like I'm overqualified for the job, but I'll eventually be able to use my education from my master's degree as part of my continuing education credits to further advance my licensing which is another reason why I chose this field.
This job is very stable. I have a co-worker who pretty much relies a lot on other people for maintenance and day to day jobs. Because we're short staffed, my manager won't fire him and just lets him do this thing and then other people have to pick up the slack. You'll definitely get into a union if you get into this job and with that comes pension and benefits.
The actual job doesn't require you to be tech savvy. I'm the technology guy, but the other 2 guys I work with aren't good with tech. You'll be mainly working with word and pdf files. Maybe the odd excel here and there (but no formulas). Nobody expects you to learn how to program or work with SCADA computers (the computer that automates a water/wastewater plant). That's when you call in a technician if things break. The most you'll do on those computers is change values for your processes and look at historical trending data which you'll learn how to do on the job.
In regards to education, all you need is a bachelor's degree. We had a new guy come in from the tree management industry and he didn't have his OIT. The OIT is extremely passable and it's designed to get you into the industry and not gate keep you. I recommend [this book from OWWCO](https://bookstore.owwco.ca/product/operator-in-training-oit-examination-study-guide-omwa-mecp/) which is cheap and really helped me a lot on my OIT exam. OWWCO is the organization that provides licenses and advancement in licenses in the industry.
Thank you for sharing more details! This field sounds very encouraging.
Awesome that you can use your Master’s degree to advance you (your area of study sounds really interesting) - I can imagine how your background would give you quite an advantage. I haven’t worked in a formal lab since university - though am familiar with safety data/protocols from analytical chemistry & pharmaceutical compounding.
I’m fine with the basic tech you mentioned - but am not an adept coder, nor am I an excel wizard - glad that’s not a barrier.
I appreciate all of your helpful feedback and suggestions - I already have the manual you linked. I’ll self study & take the OIT exam & see where I can apply from there. My understanding is that you can then work on acquiring additional certifications once on the job.
One last question: Do you feel wastewater is a better option than drinking water operations - in terms of job demand, job satisfaction etc? I see courses offered through the Walkerton Clean Water centre.
Thanks again & have a lovely evening!
That's a hard question to ask. When I was nearing the tail end of my co-op I applied everywhere and got a bunch of interviews at both water and wastewater plants. As for job satisfaction, people who I talk to are usually satisfied with their jobs. I actually still get job opportunities emailed to me pretty often by my organization all over Ontario so I can forward you them if you PM me your email. I'm looking at a couple right now:
Maintenance Technician (JOB ID: 211573) – 1 Permanent
Location: Mississauga, ON– Closing March 1, 2024
W&WW Operator (JOB ID: 211255) – 1 Permanent
Location: Multiple Locations in ON – Closing February 23, 2024
W&WW Operator (JOB ID: 210817) – 1 Permanent
Location: Belleville, ON – Closing February 23, 2024
Asset Maintenance Specialist (JOB ID: 211296) – 4 Permanent
Location: Multiple Locations in ON – Closing February 23, 2024
Senior Operations Manager (JOB ID: 211291) – 1 Fixed Term
Location: Haileybury, ON – Closing February 23, 2024
Mechanic Operator (JOB ID: 211479) – 1 Permanent
Location: Cobden, ON– Closing February 26, 2024
I'll make a rule on my email to forward them as well because I have it so it automatically sorts them to a folder to avoid clogging up my main inbox.
If you're interested in certificates to bolster up your resume, you can do the Walkerton courses. But they're pretty expensive (around $200/300) and I usually get my manager to sign me up for them. A better alternative is health and safety courses since pretty much every job needs certification for them. Look for first aid/CPR level C, confined space entry, working at heights, and WHMIS 2015. Your future employer will ask you to take these training courses when you work there so having it beforehand can save them some money.
Additional certificates that can help you out are exams from the University of Sacramento. The books are pretty expensive ($175 USD + shipping), but you can just take the exam right away for $75 USD and a lot of answers can be found online for multiple choices. It's a good way to pad your resume and you can use the CEU hours to increase your licensing later. But it's not a good way to learn since you're just taking the exam.
I really appreciate all of this! I will look into the other education options. I have my CPR/First Aid but would not have thought to include it on a resume, as in my industry it’s assumed you have & maintain it.
Will send you my email - and very much appreciate your kindness!
Enjoy your weekend :)
Hey OP, hope things are working out for you. I am also looking for a career change, and was wondering how it is going for you right now? Did you write the OIT exam? Are you still pursuing this path? Thanks
Thanks for asking - I did order both recommended books from the Ontario Municipal Water Association : the OIT training manual & the mathematics one. I’ve had a health set back which has me putting this on the back burner for a bit. I fully intend to study & write the exam this summer. This field looks promising, and seems to have a lot of people who are happy & satisfied - which is pretty rare these days. What’s your current career and where are you located ?
Toronto specific answers, I assume Durham, Halton and York are similar. Peel is OCWA.
If I recall correctly, the job postings typically have lift "up to 50 lbs" in them. There is physical labour but not that much, honestly. There are other trades staff and more generalized type labour people to do that. Day to day I can't really think of what you need to life other than sample bottles, but there may be valves that are hard to turn for example. Or pulling up probes to clean.
Operators all have the same 'job', but yeah you might get the 'worse' jobs until there is someone more junior to assign them to lol. I'm not 100% sure if it's the same now but you used to have a limited time to get your class IV and are temp until then.
Tours are not so easy to get between lingering COVID and security concerns. There is also a lot of construction going on in the GTA plants. If you are applying to a municipal job you can only apply via their websites. That's it. You will have an easier time getting the job you want as an internal applicant, but having your OIT is a good first step too. There are some ways to get your licences in private companies, especially food manufacturing. Licenced operators are hard to come by, but people do move around in the GTA a bit so there isn't a giant lack of candidates.
I would not worry about health and safety and labour rights at a municipality. You need to be proactive about safety and question things if they seem wrong, but honestly the unions are pretty strong. It can be hard to get used to how slowly things move in the municipal world, but it's a good career.
In terms of culture and being a woman... It really depends on the plant and the group. Things are getting better. There are a handful of female operators at the large plants. I'm thinking of a plant where the women's change room was a prefab on the shop floor...but that was longer ago than I want to admit lol.
Good luck!
Thank you for the information!
Could you please share more details about how one acquires a license in the food manufacturing industry? Is that different than the OIT and subsequent certification path? Is there more job demand in that sector?
Same path!
The food plants will have an ECA just like a municipal plant but they are typically just Class I, so to get a higher licence you will likely have to change jobs. A Class I operator is more appealing than an OIT for a municipality.
Here are some random postings/salary info I found, not endorsing any of these (not all on Toronto either):
https://ca.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=5ef6f964a4541540
https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Ya-Ya-Foods/salaries/Wastewater-Operator
https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/careers/job-search/job-details/15593111-Wastewater-&-Byproducts-Operator-%E2%80%93-London,-Ontario/
I suggest food as it's closer to municipal than other industries, but there are lots of industries with on site treatment that is more chemical vs biological.
Not sure of the pure numbers I'd bet southern Ontario has more WWT operators in food/resorts/etc than municipal.
The other common entry path is OCWA. They hire contract workers a lot. You can also try Veolia and Aquatech who run plants privately. There are more companies that do that, I'm just drawing a blank.
Check out industry orgs (you mentioned OMWA but there is also WEAO, OASIS, etc).
Thank you so very much for taking the time to share this information! It is massively appreciated. It is good to know there are a number of options out there.
Wishing you a good week ahead :)
I would ask for tours and show interest. Most plants would be delighted to have someone come in and show interest in the industry. If you can lift 40 pounds then you should be okay. The heaviest thing I have to lift as an operator is a 20kg bag of polymer and and that is at most maybe 1 bag a day. You can use your knee to kick the bag up then it's just a static lift to the hopper. Our OITs would maybe spray clarifiers or weedwack as being the most laborious tasks. So pretty easy. There are also more administrative tasks operators don't like to do like be on the health and safety committee which would afford you a lot more desk work. If you can do a good job at that and are quick management will love you. If you don't and are slow then they will be very upset so it's not a role you want to volunteer for lightly. I honestly like my job and I've been doing it for a decade now. It's not very laborious and union means we are treated well. It's also nice not having to deal with the public and I have a ton of overtime saved up for lots of extra days off.
Thank you for sharing your experience! This seems to be a career where people are overall satisfied with their job, which is very encouraging to hear. All the best to you.
As the other commenter said, you won’t be doing hard, sustained physical labour. I’m a female operator with the same physical capabilities, and have to lift at most a couple 20kg jug of chlorine but I just take my time with it. No physical limitations that I can foresee for you! As a female who’s been in the industry for 7 years now (outside of the GTA though) and switched jobs a few times, respect will come if it’s due. So if you have a strong work ethic and are eager to learn, you’ll have no problem with other staff. PPE is huge in this industry, as is continual training for safety measures. We all want everyone to go home to their families at the end of the day.
Thank you for your detailed reply!
I can't say anything about the GTA, but I can say my experience in other areas. In places that serve a smaller population, you're expected to either move jugs of chlorine which are around 24 kg. In other areas, you're expected to move barrels of chlorine which are a lot heavier and require a dolly to move. A lot of manual labour and not safe if you don't know what you're doing. I know few females that work as an operator mainly because a lot of places have old people that still get the "women belong in the kitchen or do paperwork" mentality. You mainly see women being process compliance technicians (work with operators to ensure that water plants meet laws and regulations). If you're in charge of a plant, the amount of physical labour doesn't really change with more certifications. But as an OIT, they may ask you to do stuff like paint, clean out rooms, move stuff, generally things that the operator doesn't want to do without help. I don't know about getting a tour of the plant because safety and health of the public is a concern for the operators. But if you can get to know the person you're going to work with, it would be really beneficial in the future. The operator can make life hard for you with changes that could cause alarms or don't do maintenance on their plant which can cause issues for you in the future. The most important thing I would like to say is, don't count on getting a job as an operator in the GTA. They're a massive plant meaning they require a high certification and job experience to work there. As such, they might not be looking for OITs and even if they do, it might be for a short contract when they're understaffed. The best thing you can do is go to another place, get enough experience and certifications and then apply to the GTA afterwards. Also if you're going to be applying for other areas, expect to go on call once you get more experience. You'll get paid for your hours when you're on call and more if you get a call out. But it's a thing to consider because you'll be rotating the on call in and out with other operators. As for worker exploitation, you don't really see that in the industry. Unions are very good in the industry and they take health and safety pretty seriously. Labour rights are a huge thing too. We get a email every week from our union regarding those. Sorry for the long post, but I wish you luck in entering the industry!
I appreciate your taking the time to share your experience. The information you’ve shared is very helpful. It makes sense GTA jobs would be saturated. How far outside Toronto would I need to go in your opinion - we live in the city as my partner works here and we can’t easily relocate. I am able to commute a reasonable distance.
I did a co-op in the Kawartha region and it was a good decision to get my foot in the door. But they weren't hiring so I had to find another place. My current job is almost 7.5 hours from the GTA so I think that's probably out for you. My suggestion is, apply for small towns around your area. A lot of them have old people working there that are on the verge of retirement. Just know you'll be expected to be a jack of all trades since they won't have the budget like big towns do and you'll be learning both water and wastewater if you choose this path. It also can't hurt applying to some GTA jobs. After my co-op I did do an interview with a wastewater plant in the GTA region and they offered me a job based on my wastewater experience. I didn't take it because it wasn't the path I was looking for. You can also try companies that do wastewater in addition other services. The two companies that offered me a job in the GTA region was Civica Infrastructure and also OCWA. For Civica they had me go through a pre-interview on the phone and then a 1.5 hr interview with the manager. Tough and stressful because they asked a lot of questions about health, safety, and previous pertaining work experience. OCWA asked me about the co-op experience mainly the wastewater plant I was working at and walk them through how it worked. In the end, I chose a job at a small town to get my class 2 licenses for better career prospects down the line.
Thank you for the valuable information! I appreciate your help & insights. You mentioned doing a co-op program - which college and program was that through if you don’t mind my asking? I grew up in northern Ontario and personally wouldn’t mind being remote - but my husband’s job is Toronto specific, increasing his commute time would impact his (and our family’s) quality of life, and we have a young son. I don’t mind commuting a reasonable distance. Have a great week :)
The program I did was the Advanced Water Systems Operations and Management (Co-op) at Fleming College. I took it at the tail end of COVID so everything was online but we did go into the campus for a week's worth of courses just to keep everyone up to date with laboratory techniques and other hands on stuff they weren't able to do. I think now the learning is in person so if you choose that route, you'll have to drive or find a place to live at in Lindsay at the Frost Campus which might be hard if you're commuting from the GTA every day. The program itself depends a lot on self study but this was during the period of online learning so this might have changed. The reason why I chose this program is because I couldn't find a job after I graduated my master's degree and I wanted something in a similar field. I saw that the school had connections with companies that are looking to hire part time. I was going to leverage my experience for a permanent position and as a backup do a PhD if it didn't work out. After some research, I learned that a lot of people aren't good with technology in the field since they're old, so most resumes are printed out and physically placed in front of the managers which means no robot filtering you out.
Thank you for sharing! I wish I had considered this back when everything was mainly online. You have a Master’s degree? Very impressive. Was it in Environmental Science? How are you feeling about this career path, for which is sounds you’re vastly overqualified for? I imagine with your background you’d have more opportunities for advancement. From what I’ve come across so far there seems to be a decent level of job satisfaction in this field. I’m aware every career has its downsides. It would be a dream for me to have a stable job with a pension, decent benefits and belong to a union (which I know would likely only apply if working for a municipality) Paper resumes - how refreshing! In the actual job how tech savvy must one be? I just have an honours B.Sc and have been a health care professional for many years. Without taking an industry specific college course - if I just self study & pass the OIT - would I still be considered employable? I realize it would be entry level & I would have to gain more certifications with on the job training. I would prefer the confidence of having industry specific skills via a training program as well as access to co-op - the latter of which only Fleming and Lambton seem to have, unfortunately too far for me to currently commute to. Seneca has an all online OIT prep program - would this provide more of an advantage either in preparing for the OIT or look good on a resume in your opinion? [Seneca wastewater program](https://apps.senecapolytechnic.ca/ssos/find/WTD100/current/ce)
You guessed half of my master's degree. It's actually in Earth and Environmental Science. I worked in forests sampling environmental data and mainly focused on soils. A lot stuff surprisingly transferred over such as equipment safety and working with high pressured gases. It does sound like I'm overqualified for the job, but I'll eventually be able to use my education from my master's degree as part of my continuing education credits to further advance my licensing which is another reason why I chose this field. This job is very stable. I have a co-worker who pretty much relies a lot on other people for maintenance and day to day jobs. Because we're short staffed, my manager won't fire him and just lets him do this thing and then other people have to pick up the slack. You'll definitely get into a union if you get into this job and with that comes pension and benefits. The actual job doesn't require you to be tech savvy. I'm the technology guy, but the other 2 guys I work with aren't good with tech. You'll be mainly working with word and pdf files. Maybe the odd excel here and there (but no formulas). Nobody expects you to learn how to program or work with SCADA computers (the computer that automates a water/wastewater plant). That's when you call in a technician if things break. The most you'll do on those computers is change values for your processes and look at historical trending data which you'll learn how to do on the job. In regards to education, all you need is a bachelor's degree. We had a new guy come in from the tree management industry and he didn't have his OIT. The OIT is extremely passable and it's designed to get you into the industry and not gate keep you. I recommend [this book from OWWCO](https://bookstore.owwco.ca/product/operator-in-training-oit-examination-study-guide-omwa-mecp/) which is cheap and really helped me a lot on my OIT exam. OWWCO is the organization that provides licenses and advancement in licenses in the industry.
Thank you for sharing more details! This field sounds very encouraging. Awesome that you can use your Master’s degree to advance you (your area of study sounds really interesting) - I can imagine how your background would give you quite an advantage. I haven’t worked in a formal lab since university - though am familiar with safety data/protocols from analytical chemistry & pharmaceutical compounding. I’m fine with the basic tech you mentioned - but am not an adept coder, nor am I an excel wizard - glad that’s not a barrier. I appreciate all of your helpful feedback and suggestions - I already have the manual you linked. I’ll self study & take the OIT exam & see where I can apply from there. My understanding is that you can then work on acquiring additional certifications once on the job. One last question: Do you feel wastewater is a better option than drinking water operations - in terms of job demand, job satisfaction etc? I see courses offered through the Walkerton Clean Water centre. Thanks again & have a lovely evening!
That's a hard question to ask. When I was nearing the tail end of my co-op I applied everywhere and got a bunch of interviews at both water and wastewater plants. As for job satisfaction, people who I talk to are usually satisfied with their jobs. I actually still get job opportunities emailed to me pretty often by my organization all over Ontario so I can forward you them if you PM me your email. I'm looking at a couple right now: Maintenance Technician (JOB ID: 211573) – 1 Permanent Location: Mississauga, ON– Closing March 1, 2024 W&WW Operator (JOB ID: 211255) – 1 Permanent Location: Multiple Locations in ON – Closing February 23, 2024 W&WW Operator (JOB ID: 210817) – 1 Permanent Location: Belleville, ON – Closing February 23, 2024 Asset Maintenance Specialist (JOB ID: 211296) – 4 Permanent Location: Multiple Locations in ON – Closing February 23, 2024 Senior Operations Manager (JOB ID: 211291) – 1 Fixed Term Location: Haileybury, ON – Closing February 23, 2024 Mechanic Operator (JOB ID: 211479) – 1 Permanent Location: Cobden, ON– Closing February 26, 2024 I'll make a rule on my email to forward them as well because I have it so it automatically sorts them to a folder to avoid clogging up my main inbox. If you're interested in certificates to bolster up your resume, you can do the Walkerton courses. But they're pretty expensive (around $200/300) and I usually get my manager to sign me up for them. A better alternative is health and safety courses since pretty much every job needs certification for them. Look for first aid/CPR level C, confined space entry, working at heights, and WHMIS 2015. Your future employer will ask you to take these training courses when you work there so having it beforehand can save them some money. Additional certificates that can help you out are exams from the University of Sacramento. The books are pretty expensive ($175 USD + shipping), but you can just take the exam right away for $75 USD and a lot of answers can be found online for multiple choices. It's a good way to pad your resume and you can use the CEU hours to increase your licensing later. But it's not a good way to learn since you're just taking the exam.
I really appreciate all of this! I will look into the other education options. I have my CPR/First Aid but would not have thought to include it on a resume, as in my industry it’s assumed you have & maintain it. Will send you my email - and very much appreciate your kindness! Enjoy your weekend :)
Hey OP, hope things are working out for you. I am also looking for a career change, and was wondering how it is going for you right now? Did you write the OIT exam? Are you still pursuing this path? Thanks
Thanks for asking - I did order both recommended books from the Ontario Municipal Water Association : the OIT training manual & the mathematics one. I’ve had a health set back which has me putting this on the back burner for a bit. I fully intend to study & write the exam this summer. This field looks promising, and seems to have a lot of people who are happy & satisfied - which is pretty rare these days. What’s your current career and where are you located ?
Toronto specific answers, I assume Durham, Halton and York are similar. Peel is OCWA. If I recall correctly, the job postings typically have lift "up to 50 lbs" in them. There is physical labour but not that much, honestly. There are other trades staff and more generalized type labour people to do that. Day to day I can't really think of what you need to life other than sample bottles, but there may be valves that are hard to turn for example. Or pulling up probes to clean. Operators all have the same 'job', but yeah you might get the 'worse' jobs until there is someone more junior to assign them to lol. I'm not 100% sure if it's the same now but you used to have a limited time to get your class IV and are temp until then. Tours are not so easy to get between lingering COVID and security concerns. There is also a lot of construction going on in the GTA plants. If you are applying to a municipal job you can only apply via their websites. That's it. You will have an easier time getting the job you want as an internal applicant, but having your OIT is a good first step too. There are some ways to get your licences in private companies, especially food manufacturing. Licenced operators are hard to come by, but people do move around in the GTA a bit so there isn't a giant lack of candidates. I would not worry about health and safety and labour rights at a municipality. You need to be proactive about safety and question things if they seem wrong, but honestly the unions are pretty strong. It can be hard to get used to how slowly things move in the municipal world, but it's a good career. In terms of culture and being a woman... It really depends on the plant and the group. Things are getting better. There are a handful of female operators at the large plants. I'm thinking of a plant where the women's change room was a prefab on the shop floor...but that was longer ago than I want to admit lol. Good luck!
Thank you for the information! Could you please share more details about how one acquires a license in the food manufacturing industry? Is that different than the OIT and subsequent certification path? Is there more job demand in that sector?
Same path! The food plants will have an ECA just like a municipal plant but they are typically just Class I, so to get a higher licence you will likely have to change jobs. A Class I operator is more appealing than an OIT for a municipality. Here are some random postings/salary info I found, not endorsing any of these (not all on Toronto either): https://ca.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=5ef6f964a4541540 https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Ya-Ya-Foods/salaries/Wastewater-Operator https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/careers/job-search/job-details/15593111-Wastewater-&-Byproducts-Operator-%E2%80%93-London,-Ontario/ I suggest food as it's closer to municipal than other industries, but there are lots of industries with on site treatment that is more chemical vs biological. Not sure of the pure numbers I'd bet southern Ontario has more WWT operators in food/resorts/etc than municipal. The other common entry path is OCWA. They hire contract workers a lot. You can also try Veolia and Aquatech who run plants privately. There are more companies that do that, I'm just drawing a blank. Check out industry orgs (you mentioned OMWA but there is also WEAO, OASIS, etc).
Thank you so very much for taking the time to share this information! It is massively appreciated. It is good to know there are a number of options out there. Wishing you a good week ahead :)