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Cell technician vs biology laboratory assistant

The differences between cell technicians and biology laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a cell technician and a biology laboratory assistant. Additionally, a cell technician has an average salary of $51,227, which is higher than the $34,240 average annual salary of a biology laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a cell technician include harvest, CIP and cell culture. The most important skills for a biology laboratory assistant are lab equipment, biology laboratory, and chemistry.

Cell technician vs biology laboratory assistant overview

Cell TechnicianBiology Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary$51,227$34,240
Hourly rate$24.63$16.46
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs18,72948,958
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4040
Years of experience44

What does a cell technician do?

Cell tower technicians are responsible for maintaining cell phone towers and keeping them in good working condition. They make sure that cell phones are receiving signals all the time without any lag or problem and that customers always have full bars. Their duties include repairing and restoring old materials and equipment, assessing functionality, building, returning, and setting up new towers, as well as consistent servicing and maintenance. Technician applicants are required to have a degree in electronics telecommunications and undergo job and safety training.

What does a biology laboratory assistant do?

A biology laboratory assistant is in charge of assisting scientists or researchers and performing laboratory support tasks on a daily basis. Their responsibilities include setting up and sanitizing equipment, preparing samples, maintaining documentation of all experiments and procedures, writing laboratory reports, and running errands as needed. There are also instances where they must update databases, answer calls and correspondence, and grade student papers. Furthermore, a biology laboratory assistant must maintain the cleanliness of laboratories, all while implementing its policies and regulations.

Cell technician vs biology laboratory assistant salary

Cell technicians and biology laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Cell TechnicianBiology Laboratory Assistant
Average salary$51,227$34,240
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $79,000Between $22,000 And $52,000
Highest paying CityFremont, CABridgewater, MA
Highest paying stateConnecticutMassachusetts
Best paying companyGeneral MotorsMassachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industryFinanceGovernment

Differences between cell technician and biology laboratory assistant education

There are a few differences between a cell technician and a biology laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:

Cell TechnicianBiology Laboratory Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 42%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringBiology
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

Cell technician vs biology laboratory assistant demographics

Here are the differences between cell technicians' and biology laboratory assistants' demographics:

Cell TechnicianBiology Laboratory Assistant
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 76.3% Female, 23.7%Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 14.9% White, 50.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between cell technician and biology laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Cell technician example responsibilities.

  • Lead initiatives to migrate customers to VPN and remote access systems.
  • Install, maintain, repair and service PC's, servers, POS systems.
  • Maintain all base stations, transmitter equipment (GSM, UMTS, DAS, & LTE).
  • Remove and replace boost pumps, check valves, plumbing, and braces.
  • Install, troubleshoot, and configure PC, printers, routers., network LAN devices
  • Assure system performance and integrity by performing sweep testing, PIM tests, DC power system configuration, grounding
  • Show more

Biology laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

  • Comfort frighten patients and maintain an exceptionally bright professional demeanor to accomplish a procedure that makes most people very uncomfortable.
  • Set up gel electrophoresis, clean slides, run experiments.
  • Prepare culture media and ELISA samples following standard procedures.
  • Prepare stock solutions, media for growing bacteria and yeast, electrophoresis gels and pouring agar plates.
  • Aid students independently with laboratory work regarding basic principles of evolution, genetics, ecology, and molecular and cellular biology.
  • Supervise and train fellow colleagues in GC, GC-MS, ATR-IR, FTIR, UV/Vis and DSC.
  • Show more

Cell technician vs biology laboratory assistant skills

Common cell technician skills
  • Harvest, 13%
  • CIP, 12%
  • Cell Culture, 12%
  • Continuous Improvement, 11%
  • Transmitters, 9%
  • Perform Routine Maintenance, 7%
Common biology laboratory assistant skills
  • Lab Equipment, 38%
  • Biology Laboratory, 6%
  • Chemistry, 4%
  • Anatomy, 4%
  • Physiology, 3%
  • Lab Experiments, 3%

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