Also called: Mattress Deconstruction Technician, Mattress Recycler
Cuts apart old mattresses by hand so their steel springs, foam, fabric and wood can be recycled instead of buried in landfills.
Trucks drop off a stack of used mattresses from hotels and stores. With a hooked knife you slice off the fabric, peel away foam and separate the steel springs. You toss each material into its own bin, then move to the next mattress, about 60 a day.
Hourly; some nonprofits offer second-chance jobs.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No diploma required; workers learn on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: None required.
Growing faster than average. State laws in California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Oregon fund mattress recycling.
Medium risk for 10 years. Machines now help cut some mattresses, but much of the sorting still needs hands-on work.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to mattress recycling centers (Bye Bye Mattress partners) for teardown jobs
Classes: Shop CTE, PE or weight training, Environmental science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9199.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.