Alaska pays sterile processing techs above the national median, driven less by cost of living adjustments than by how hard it is to staff a department 3,000 miles from the Lower 48. Certification is not required by state law here, so hospitals hire and train, but a CRCST certification still moves you to the top of the pile. Anchorage holds most of the volume; outside it, you are choosing between a handful of regional hospitals and travel contracts that pay a premium for the distance.
Because Alaska has no certification mandate and a thin local labor pool, hospital-trained entry is realistic here in a way it is not in New Jersey or New York. Apply directly and expect to certify within your first year on the job. If you have no background at all, start with the no-experience hiring guide.