Animal technician vs laboratory animal technician

The differences between animal technicians and laboratory animal technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an animal technician and a laboratory animal technician. Additionally, an animal technician has an average salary of $31,378, which is higher than the $30,382 average annual salary of a laboratory animal technician.

The top three skills for an animal technician include animal handling, autoclaves and euthanasia. The most important skills for a laboratory animal technician are animal handling, animal husbandry, and research animals.

Animal technician vs laboratory animal technician overview

	Animal Technician	Laboratory Animal Technician
Yearly salary	$31,378	$30,382
Hourly rate	$15.09	$14.61
Growth rate	20%	20%
Number of jobs	39,917	63,768
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	12	12

What does an animal technician do?

An animal technician is responsible for ensuring the animals' welfare under the supervision and guidance of a licensed veterinarian. Animal technicians maintain an organized record of animal information, assisting in medical surgeries and procedures, administering medications, collecting laboratory samples, and sending examination reports to the animal owners. They also keep the cages clean, inspecting the clinic's tools and equipment, and sterilizing laboratory materials to avoid contamination. An animal technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the owners' inquiries and concerns and monitoring the animals' conditions.

What does a laboratory animal technician do?

A laboratory animal technician is responsible for conducting animal research studies by observing and analyzing animal nature and conditions. Laboratory animal technicians maintain the safety and cleanliness of animal cages, supply them food and water, and administer medications as needed. They also take samples for laboratory examinations, monitor the adequacy of inventories, and sterilize tools and equipment. A laboratory animal technician writes finding reports, logs information on the database, and coordinates with other animal experts for study validations.

Animal technician vs laboratory animal technician salary

Animal technicians and laboratory animal technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Technician	Laboratory Animal Technician
Average salary	$31,378	$30,382
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $51,000	Between $22,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Santa Cruz, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	Harvard University	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between animal technician and laboratory animal technician education

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

	Animal Technician	Laboratory Animal Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Ohio State University	Ohio State University

Animal technician vs laboratory animal technician demographics

Here are the differences between animal technicians' and laboratory animal technicians' demographics:

	Animal Technician	Laboratory Animal Technician
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between animal technician and laboratory animal technician duties and responsibilities

Animal technician example responsibilities.

Maintain all necessary paperwork for specific species as required by the USDA, IACUC, as well as other agencies.
Maintain the cleanliness and organization of all animal facility locations.
Stock shelves with personal protection equipment (PPE).
Learned all PPE policies for different areas of the vivarium.
Train and supervise fellow animal technicians in GLP, vivarium policy, husbandry and sterilization methods.
Perform oral gavage, im, iv and ip injections and retro orbital collections in mice.

Laboratory animal technician example responsibilities.

Manage the crossing activities to meet the target number of F1 seed, including quality control and purity.
Conduct daily internal audits/inspections to ensure lab are in compliance with IACUC, GLP and FDA regulations.
Register animal lab technician and member of AALAS.
Maintain lab records in accordance to USDA standards.
Depend upon for movement of sows and gilts.
Perform husbandry duties for all species house according to ALLAC and USDA standards.

Animal technician vs laboratory animal technician skills

Common animal technician skills

Animal Handling, 7%
Autoclaves, 7%
Euthanasia, 6%
Laboratory Animal Care, 4%
Technical Procedures, 4%
AALAS, 4%

Common laboratory animal technician skills

Animal Handling, 11%
Animal Husbandry, 10%
Research Animals, 5%
Cleanliness, 5%
Technical Procedures, 5%
Animal Species, 4%

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Animal Technician
Animal Technician vs Laboratory Animal Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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