Environmental laboratory technician vs laboratory researcher

The differences between environmental laboratory technicians and laboratory researchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an environmental laboratory technician, becoming a laboratory researcher takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an environmental laboratory technician has an average salary of $40,682, which is higher than the $27,760 average annual salary of a laboratory researcher.

The top three skills for an environmental laboratory technician include lab equipment, water samples and sops. The most important skills for a laboratory researcher are lab procedures, cell culture, and molecular biology.

Environmental laboratory technician vs laboratory researcher overview

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Laboratory Researcher
Yearly salary	$40,682	$27,760
Hourly rate	$19.56	$13.35
Growth rate	9%	17%
Number of jobs	58,055	57,359
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	38	41
Years of experience	2	4

What does an environmental laboratory technician do?

Environmental laboratory technicians are professionals who are responsible for testing all contaminants that may affect the environment and the health of both humans and wildlife. These technicians are required to prepare and test samples such as gases, soils, water, and industrial wastewater to determine the level of pollutants or identify the sources of contamination. They must discuss and report the summary of the data from test results with supervisors and customers. Environmental laboratory technicians must also design monitoring programs and set up equipment when working in the field.

What does a laboratory researcher do?

Laboratory researchers are professionals who manage a research laboratory while performing cellular and biochemical experiments with the primary researcher. These researchers must work with hazardous chemicals and should show expertise in handling lab equipment such as glassware and field equipment. They are required to assist with research projects and interpret the test data of an experiment. They must manage the order of all lab equipment by filling up the purchase requisition forms. Laboratory researchers are required to work with students in all aspects of laboratory research.

Environmental laboratory technician vs laboratory researcher salary

Environmental laboratory technicians and laboratory researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Laboratory Researcher
Average salary	$40,682	$27,760
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $56,000	Between $17,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	New Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Maine
Best paying company	-	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and laboratory researcher education

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Laboratory Researcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	Duke University

Environmental laboratory technician vs laboratory researcher demographics

Here are the differences between environmental laboratory technicians' and laboratory researchers' demographics:

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Laboratory Researcher
Average age	38	41
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 56.7% Female, 43.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and laboratory researcher duties and responsibilities

Environmental laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Support short and long term projects meeting establish deadlines such as the upcoming revisions to the USP heavy metals testing.
Initiate and maintain paperwork in accordance with FDA guidelines and perform investigations for any deviant results.
Perform internal audits of laboratories in accordance with current standard operating procedure of good laboratory practices and FDA regulations.
Assist HAZWOPER technicians with logistical support for operations on project operations including research of facilities and vendors need for project completion.
Monitor temperature and pressure of production distillation towers

Laboratory researcher example responsibilities.

Manage participant records according to IRB guidelines to ensure confidentiality.
Plan to create apparatus and experimental procedure to enable selective extraction of DNA using surface chemistry.
Experience in conducting gel electrophoresis procedures.
Gel electrophoresis are used to analyze banding patterns.
Specialize in design and implementation of ELISA's for vaccine.
Analyze samples with advance instrumentation, including HPLC and UV-visible spectroscopy.

Environmental laboratory technician vs laboratory researcher skills

Common environmental laboratory technician skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
Water Samples, 8%
Sops, 6%
Environmental Samples, 6%
Test Equipment, 5%
Environmental Lab, 4%

Common laboratory researcher skills

Lab Procedures, 10%
Cell Culture, 7%
Molecular Biology, 6%
PCR, 6%
Chemistry, 5%
R, 4%

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Environmental Laboratory Technician
Environmental Laboratory Technician vs Laboratory Researcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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