How to hire a histopathology technician

How to hire a histopathology technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step histopathology technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a histopathology technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new histopathology technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a histopathology technician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect histopathology technician also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of histopathology technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Histopathology Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Histopathology Technician	Medical laboratory technologists (commonly known as medical laboratory scientists) and medical laboratory technicians collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances.	$16-47
   Laboratory Supervisor	The primary job of laboratory supervisors is to oversee the daily operations of laboratories. They are responsible for facilitating the collection, analysis, and interpretation of laboratory results... Show more	$22-46
   Laboratory Aide	A laboratory aide is primarily responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and order in laboratories, all while performing support tasks for scientists. Their duties revolve around arranging specimens and samples, transporting materials from one laboratory to another, preparing apparatuses and machines, and storing them accordingly... Show more	$9-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Laboratory Equipment
   • Laboratory Results
   • Anatomic Pathology
   • Troubleshoot
   • Sectioning
   • Tissue Samples
   • Frozen Sections
   • Microtomy
   • Tissue Sections
   • Tissue Blocks
   • Quality Control Procedures
   • Microtome
   • Computer System
   • Lab Safety

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Recognize & investigate instrument malfunctions, perform calibrations, manage QC, and maintain comprehensive written records of tests & procedures.
   • Validate and optimize antibody for clinical immunohistochemistry assay.
   • Prepare cell block from urine, bronchial brushing, washing, FNA slide preparation.
   • Validate and optimize antibody for clinical immunohistochemistry assay.

   More histopathology technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your histopathology technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A histopathology technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a histopathology technician in South Carolina may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level histopathology technician usually earns less than a senior-level histopathology technician. Additionally, a histopathology technician with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average histopathology technician salary

   $59,825yearly

   $28.76 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level histopathology technician salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average histopathology technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Pennsylvania	$83,357	$40
   2	California	$81,025	$39
   3	West Virginia	$73,598	$35
   4	Ohio	$72,588	$35
   5	Arizona	$70,957	$34
   6	Michigan	$68,440	$33
   7	Washington	$65,185	$31
   8	Maryland	$64,613	$31
   9	Oregon	$63,940	$31
   10	Texas	$57,439	$28
   11	Nebraska	$52,340	$25
   12	Kansas	$51,587	$25

   Average histopathology technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Zoetis	$113,037	$54.34	3
   2	University of Maryland Medical System	$101,840	$48.96	16
   3	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	$92,841	$44.64
   4	Indian Health Service	$66,270	$31.86
   5	Johns Hopkins University	$61,120	$29.38	6
   6	Johns Hopkins Medicine	$60,528	$29.10	4
   7	Accurate Diagnostics	$58,099	$27.93

4. Writing a histopathology technician job description

   A good histopathology technician job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a histopathology technician job description:

   Histopathology technician job description example

   **ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY**
   
   National Institutes of Health (NIH)
   
   National Cancer Institute (NCI)
   
   Center for Cancer Research (CCR)
   
   Laboratory of Pathology (LP)
   
   Histopathology Section
   
   **POSITION DESCRIPTION**
   
   + Provide support for the Histopathology Laboratory, in support of the Surgical and Molecular Pathology sections.
   
   + Responsible for accessioning and processing patient pathology material to include order forms, reports, slides, and paraffin blocks. Accurately accounts for and accession submitted material.
   
   + Accessions fresh tissue samples collected from NIH clinics, nursing units, and Operating Room; ensuring accuracy of patient identification matching samples with orders. Enters patient cases into Laboratory Information System (LIS), labels samples with LIS barcoded labels, and distributes samples and requisitions to the Pathologists Assistant, Clinical Fellows, or Histopathology technician.
   
   + Process human specimens received in the Laboratory - and the associated documentation - and computer orders before accessioning to make sure that necessary elements are present for the acceptance of the specimen.
   
   + Selects appropriate histology techniques for preparing the patient samples according to the quality and quantity of the specimen and the patient's clinical information.
   
   + Labels forms and specimen containers with the assigned surgical pathology number, selects the correct processing protocol for each case and prepares the necessary number of cassettes with the patient identification number to assist the pathologist with grossing and processing of tissue specimens.
   
   + Performs tissue processing using the automatic tissue processing system.
   
   + Performs routine maintenance of tissue processors and troubleshoots machine problems when necessary.
   
   + Uses tissue embedding centers to embed human tissue sections according to the established procedure which requires experience with the embedding center components, proper type of paraffin for processing and embedding and well as troubleshooting problems.
   
   + Performs routine H&E and histologic special staining manually or with automatic stainer.
   
   + Operates and troubleshoots stainers.
   
   + Performs quality control of stained tissues and instruments.
   
   + Performs both manually and automatic cover slipping techniques performs both simple and highly complex special stains to demonstrate different type of tissue structures, micro-organisms, and minerals according to the special stains procedure manual.
   
   + Assist staff with other clinical support tasks as necessary.
   
   **REQUIREMENTS**
   
   + Preferred: Certification as a Histotechnician (HT) or Histopathology Technologist (HTL) from ASCP
   
   + Acceptable: completed necessary education to be eligible to for HT ASCP certification
   
   + Minimum of two years of experience cutting and embedding small biopsies
   
   + Broad comprehensive, practical knowledge, of the theories which underlie biology, chemistry, physiology and human anatomy as they relate to basic pathology and experience in the field of Histotechnology.
   
   + Knowledge of federal privacy laws and/or patient privacy laws to ensure confidentiality of patient information.
   
   + Strong communication skills, both oral and written.
   
   + Excellent organizational and time management skills.
   
   **LOCATION**
   
   The world famous "Building 10" on NIH's main campus in Bethesda, MD
   
   \#IND123
   
   **Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information**
   
   While the position you're applying for may not be for a government role, Astrix is a governmental contractor and, as such, is required to collect certain information in its applicants. Astrix is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment, or any employee because of age, color, sex, disability, national origin, race, religion, or veteran status. Completion of these fields will not affect your opportunity for employment or the terms or conditions of your employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right histopathology technician for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your histopathology technician job on Zippia to find and recruit histopathology technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting histopathology technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new histopathology technician

   Once you've selected the best histopathology technician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new histopathology technician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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