PlainGovJobs
OPM FedScope March 2025 Industrial Equipment Operation Family

Sewage Disposal Plant Operating

Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (March 2025), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating occupation series (code 5408).

The verdict

With 253 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Sewage Disposal Plant Operating ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Industrial Equipment Operation Family family, and headcount declined 1.9% from the prior period. Its average salary of $73,537 pays below the $109,869 federal average.

Employees
253
Share of workforce
0.0%
Avg salary
$73,537
Avg tenure
10.5 yrs

What the Numbers Say About Sewage Disposal Plant Operating

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 253 people work in the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating occupation (OPM code 5408) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -1.9% from the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.

Average tenure in Sewage Disposal Plant Operating runs 10.5 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $73,537 per year, 33.1% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 1.6% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

Sewage Disposal Plant Operating sits inside the Industrial Equipment Operation Family family (code 54), which contains 12 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Sewage Disposal Plant Operating postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Inside the Industrial Equipment Operation Family family (12 occupations, 5,157 employees combined), Sewage Disposal Plant Operating holds the #7 spot by headcount, a 4.9% share of the family total.

Employees

253

-1.9% from prior period

Average Salary

$73,537

+1.6%

Avg Length of Service

10.5 yrs

Occupation Family

Industrial Equipment Operation Family

Salary Context

How Sewage Disposal Plant Operating pay compares to the federal average of $109,869

Occupation Average

$73,537

Federal Average

$109,869

vs. Federal Avg

-33.1%

Where Sewage Disposal Plant Operating ranks on federal pay

Its average salary of $73,537 is higher than 34% of federal occupation series (218 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Sewage Disposal Plant Operating sits in the federal pay distribution.

$16,074132$63,787308$111,499167$159,21223$206,9242$254,6372
Distribution of average salary across all 634 federal occupation series (OPM FedScope) - Sewage Disposal Plant Operating is in the highlighted range.

Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Sewage Disposal Plant Operating ranks higher than 34%.

Source: OPM FedScope Employment Cubes As of March 2025

10 other occupations in the same family

Occupation Employees Avg Salary
Lock and Dam Operating 1,258 $68,513
Boiler Plant Operating 789 $75,363
Electrical Power Controlling 759 $129,019
Fuel Distribution System Operating 747 $72,988
Utility Systems Operating 456 $73,935
Water Treatment Plant Operating 301 $76,470
Misc Industrial Equipment Operation 195 $78,435
Sandblasting 173 $60,898
Air Conditioning Equipment Operating 166 $76,004
Packaging Machine Operating 32 $73,714

Frequently Asked Questions

How many federal employees work as Sewage Disposal Plant Operating?
There are 253 federal employees in the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating occupation as of March 2025. This represents 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce.
What is the average salary for Sewage Disposal Plant Operating in the federal government?
Federal employees in the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating occupation earn an average of $73,537 per year, 33.1% below the $109,869 federal-wide average.
What occupation family does Sewage Disposal Plant Operating belong to?
Occupation code 5408, Sewage Disposal Plant Operating, sits within the 12-occupation Industrial Equipment Operation Family family (code 54).
What is the average length of service for Sewage Disposal Plant Operating?
Average tenure in the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating occupation runs 10.5 years, versus 11.8 years federal-wide.
Is the Sewage Disposal Plant Operating workforce growing or shrinking?
Since the prior reporting period, Sewage Disposal Plant Operating has shed about 5 positions, a 1.9% decrease.
How does Sewage Disposal Plant Operating pay compare to private sector salaries?
Sewage Disposal Plant Operating pays $73,537 on average in the federal government, 33.1% below the $109,869 federal-wide average. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program tracks the private-sector equivalent for comparison.

Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGovJobs

PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.