Environmental laboratory technician vs research laboratory technician

The differences between environmental laboratory technicians and research laboratory technicians 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 research laboratory technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an environmental laboratory technician has an average salary of $40,682, which is higher than the $38,308 average annual salary of a research laboratory technician.

The top three skills for an environmental laboratory technician include lab equipment, water samples and sops. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research laboratory technician overview

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$40,682	$38,308
Hourly rate	$19.56	$18.42
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	58,055	86,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	38	40
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 research laboratory technician do?

Research laboratory technicians play a vital role in scientific laboratories. They perform varied duties and responsibilities, which include setting up, operating, and maintaining the laboratory equipment, assisting in laboratory-based research activities such as sampling, testing, and analyzing results, and providing technical support to the laboratory team members. In addition, they are expected to support the development and advancement of science and modern medicine. Other typical duties of research laboratory technicians include preparing samples and specimens, keeping abreast with current technical developments, and ensuring strict compliance with safety procedures.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research laboratory technician salary

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$40,682	$38,308
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $56,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	-	Illinois
Best paying company	-	Accenture
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and research laboratory technician education

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	Cornell University

Environmental laboratory technician vs research laboratory technician demographics

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Laboratory Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
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, 12.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 15.7% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and research laboratory technician 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

Research laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage RT-PCR screening of candidate genes.
Manage the development of innovative visualization and concept mapping of contest environment analysis challenges and analyst skill sets.
Use many scientific techniques to collect and analyze RNA, DNA, and specific proteins from lines of potato plants.
Preform computational molecular simulation of DNA and RNA.
Retain patients from previous research projects and update database using patient histories and correlating pertinent medical data.
Work with non human primates in an HIV testing laboratory.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research laboratory technician skills

Common environmental laboratory technician skills

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

Common research laboratory technician skills

Patients, 9%
Chemistry, 7%
Laboratory Equipment, 7%
Cell Culture, 5%
Research Data, 4%
Research Projects, 4%

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Environmental Laboratory Technician
Environmental Laboratory Technician vs Research Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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