Animal biologist vs research technician

The differences between animal biologists and research technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an animal biologist and a research technician. Additionally, an animal biologist has an average salary of $62,366, which is higher than the $43,034 average annual salary of a research technician.

The top three skills for an animal biologist include genotyping, sops and lab equipment. The most important skills for a research technician are patients, data collection, and cell culture.

Animal biologist vs research technician overview

	Animal Biologist	Research Technician
Yearly salary	$62,366	$43,034
Hourly rate	$29.98	$20.69
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	13,114	64,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Animal biologist vs research technician salary

Animal biologists and research technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Biologist	Research Technician
Average salary	$62,366	$43,034
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $93,000	Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	-	Pasadena, CA
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	GCP Applied Technologies
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between animal biologist and research technician education

There are a few differences between an animal biologist and a research technician in terms of educational background:

	Animal Biologist	Research Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Stanford University	Cornell University

Animal biologist vs research technician demographics

Here are the differences between animal biologists' and research technicians' demographics:

	Animal Biologist	Research Technician
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 46.2% Female, 53.8%	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 13.5% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between animal biologist and research technician duties and responsibilities

Animal biologist example responsibilities.

Manage detailed GLP laboratory manual daily.
Project require review of existing environmental data, identification of permitting requirements, wetland identification/delineation and sensitive and endanger species issues.
Perform research in immunology and virology as a part of the vaccine development division; develop and validate bioassays.

Research technician example responsibilities.

Manage a DNA database and work with researchers to retrieve or send out samples and results.
Lead experiments to assess survivor behavior differences in zebrafish contaminate with dietary mercury.
Prepare reagents for use in processing samples, DNA and RNA extractions, and QC.
Investigate and validate various acute phase protein assays as OA biomarkers in rodent animal models.
Perform DNA extraction and analysis for the purpose of identifying bacterial strand for waste stream characterization.
Extend course knowledge of CRISPR to experiment.

Animal biologist vs research technician skills

Common animal biologist skills

Genotyping, 44%
Sops, 35%
Lab Equipment, 16%
Animal Studies, 6%

Common research technician skills

Patients, 9%
Data Collection, 6%
Cell Culture, 5%
Laboratory Equipment, 5%
Research Projects, 4%
Lab Equipment, 3%

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Animal Biologist
Animal Biologist vs Research Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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