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Analytical laboratory technician hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring analytical laboratory technicians in the United States:
Here's a step-by-step analytical laboratory technician hiring guide:
An analytical laboratory technician is responsible for operating various equipment to perform laboratory research and investigations under a professional scientist's supervision. Analytical laboratory technicians ensure the laboratory and machinery's safety and cleanliness to avoid potential hazards and keep accurate laboratory results. They also manage the adequacy of laboratory inventories, create purchase requests, and document findings for reference. An analytical laboratory technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in performing examinations accordingly while following strict safety protocols and regulatory policies.
The analytical laboratory technician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.
An analytical laboratory technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, analytical laboratory technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.
This list shows salaries for various types of analytical laboratory technicians.
| Type of Analytical Laboratory Technician | Description | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical Laboratory Technician | Chemical technicians use special instruments and techniques to help chemists and chemical engineers research, develop, produce, and test chemical products and processes. | $15-25 |
| Chemist | Chemists are generally responsible for observing and investigating chemical substances to create new and safe compounds essential for practical applications. They are often grouped depending on a particular area of specialization to focus and understand the complexities of the matter... Show more | $22-43 |
| Research Chemist | A research chemist specializes in conducting studies and experiments to develop new products. Their duties primarily focus on conducting research and assessments, gathering and analyzing chemical samples, developing ideas, conducting tests to study chemical reactions, maintaining records of all procedures, and utilizing previous studies... Show more | $25-51 |
Including a salary range in your analytical laboratory technician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An analytical laboratory technician can vary based on:
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | $53,530 | $26 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $50,301 | $24 |
| 3 | New Mexico | $50,296 | $24 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $49,022 | $24 |
| 5 | New York | $46,907 | $23 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $42,722 | $21 |
| 7 | California | $41,962 | $20 |
| 8 | Texas | $41,171 | $20 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $41,032 | $20 |
| 10 | Ohio | $40,338 | $19 |
| 11 | Arizona | $40,141 | $19 |
| 12 | South Carolina | $38,343 | $18 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | $38,158 | $18 |
| 14 | Nebraska | $38,135 | $18 |
| 15 | Indiana | $37,651 | $18 |
| 16 | Michigan | $35,115 | $17 |
| 17 | Florida | $34,500 | $17 |
| 18 | Georgia | $33,802 | $16 |
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoetis | $57,627 | $27.71 | 12 |
| 2 | Coty | $56,531 | $27.18 | |
| 3 | Research Foundation of The City University of New York | $45,818 | $22.03 | |
| 4 | Namsa | $44,641 | $21.46 | 20 |
| 5 | Desktop Metal | $44,121 | $21.21 | |
| 6 | Indium | $43,491 | $20.91 | |
| 7 | Revision | $42,873 | $20.61 | |
| 8 | Invitro | $42,397 | $20.38 | |
| 9 | Kodak | $42,061 | $20.22 | |
| 10 | The Dow Chemical Company | $41,898 | $20.14 | 2 |
| 11 | Integrated Resources | $41,514 | $19.96 | 167 |
| 12 | Barry Callebaut Group | $41,204 | $19.81 | |
| 13 | E. & J. Gallo Winery | $41,010 | $19.72 | |
| 14 | Suncoast Post-Tension | $40,635 | $19.54 | |
| 15 | Intertek | $40,375 | $19.41 | 10 |
| 16 | Eurofins | $40,171 | $19.31 | 122 |
| 17 | MegaFood | $40,145 | $19.30 | |
| 18 | The Mosaic Company | $40,060 | $19.26 | |
| 19 | Solvay America Inc | $39,791 | $19.13 | |
| 20 | Intertek USA, Inc. | $39,770 | $19.12 | 10 |
A good analytical laboratory technician job description should include a few things:
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an analytical laboratory technician job description:
There are a few common ways to find analytical laboratory technicians for your business:
Recruiting analytical laboratory technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Once you've found the analytical laboratory technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.
Recruiting analytical laboratory technicians involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.
You can expect to pay around $41,538 per year for an analytical laboratory technician, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for analytical laboratory technicians in the US typically range between $15 and $25 an hour.