Environmental laboratory technician vs research technician

The differences between environmental laboratory technicians and research 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 technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a research technician has an average salary of $43,034, which is higher than the $40,682 average annual salary of an environmental 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 technician are patients, data collection, and cell culture.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research technician overview

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Technician
Yearly salary	$40,682	$43,034
Hourly rate	$19.56	$20.69
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	58,055	64,786
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
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 technician do?

A research technician is responsible for assisting in research studies and laboratory experiments. Research technicians operate laboratory tools and equipment, process data for experiments, collect samples for study, analyze existing research materials, analyze experiment results, manage inventories and stock supplies, record observations, and create reports for further examination. A research technician must have strong analytical and scientific knowledge, as well as a passion for research writing and investigations crucial for this kind of industry.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research technician salary

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Technician
Average salary	$40,682	$43,034
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $56,000	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 environmental laboratory technician and research technician education

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	Cornell University

Environmental laboratory technician vs research technician demographics

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Research Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 49.3% Female, 50.7%
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, 12.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 16.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and research 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 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.

Environmental laboratory technician vs research 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 technician skills

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

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Environmental Laboratory Technician
Environmental Laboratory Technician vs Research Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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