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Laboratory animal technician skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Peggy Root Kustritz DVM, PhD, MMedEd,
Gerald Bergtrom Ph.D.
Laboratory animal technician example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical laboratory animal technician skills. We ranked the top skills for laboratory animal technicians based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.1% of laboratory animal technician resumes contained animal handling as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a laboratory animal technician needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 laboratory animal technician skills for your resume and career

1. Animal Handling

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use animal handling:
  • Train new employees in animal handling and care procedures.
  • Provided small animal handling, restraint, and transport.

2. Animal Husbandry

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use animal husbandry:
  • Worked in all areas of the facility including animal husbandry, equipment sterilization and compound preparation.
  • Followed company policies and protocols and ensured animal husbandry policies are followed.

3. Research Animals

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use research animals:
  • Provided primary care of routine husbandry and sanitation for medical research and research animals.
  • Provide general care for research animals including cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, rats and hamsters.

4. Cleanliness

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use cleanliness:
  • Ensured cleanliness and sanitation of animal housing and ancillary areas.
  • Maintained cleanliness and organization of facilities.

5. Technical Procedures

A technical procedure is a worksheet and any document that outlines the methods that must be followed towards achieving a given task or towards the production of a thing. It's like a template that dictates how everything should be done in a standard way and in accordance with the right principles for effective results. It applies to every sector of the modern world.

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use technical procedures:
  • Executed technical procedures that include animal identification, weaning, breeding, and euthanasia.
  • Perform and assist investigators with technical procedures; provide anesthesia recovery support.

6. Animal Species

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use animal species:
  • Provided anesthesia, surgical preparation and recovery for multiple animal species.
  • Perform care and daily husbandry to different laboratory animal species.

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7. Animal Facility

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use animal facility:
  • Report any abnormal conditions of the animal facility or immediate vicinity to supervisory staff.
  • Managed the daily operations of the animal facility from a husbandry/facility and regulatory perspective.

8. AALAS

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use aalas:
  • Registered animal lab technician and member of AALAS.
  • Achieved AALAS certification at LAT level 12/2000.

9. Animal Cages

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use animal cages:
  • Sanitize, organize and maintain animal cages and equipment by operating cage washer, tunnel washer, bedding dispensers and autoclave.
  • Worked in quarantine, changed animal cages, provide food and water* Observed periodically the status of animals health

10. LAT

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use lat:
  • Served as LAT representative on Animal Care and Use Committee.

11. FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services that regulates the production and sale of food, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, and other consumer goods, as well as veterinary medicine. The FDA is now in charge of overseeing the manufacture of products like vaccines, allergy treatments, and beauty products.

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use fda:
  • Followed SOP, FDA, and OSHA guidelines.
  • Updated Standard Operating Procedures so as to maintain strict compliance with Good Laboratory Practice guidelines, as well as FDA regulations.

12. Husbandry Care

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use husbandry care:
  • Provided primary husbandry care for all laboratory animals including non-human primates, lab rodents, owls, and mouse lemurs.
  • Provided routine specialized husbandry care for all species.

13. IACUC

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use iacuc:
  • Prepared daily diets, cleaned and sanitized enclosures, maintained laboratory in accordance with standard operating procedures and IACUC requirements.
  • Served on Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and Committee on Hazardous And Radioactive Materials (CHARM).

14. Facility Maintenance

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use facility maintenance:
  • Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment and general facility maintenance.
  • Maintained census records of all animal rooms in facility, conducted daily facility maintenance.

15. Non-Human Primates

Here's how laboratory animal technicians use non-human primates:
  • Provided care and handled laboratory animals including Non-Human Primates.
  • Prepared and administered liquid diet for non-human primates.
top-skills

What skills help Laboratory Animal Technicians find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on laboratory animal technician resumes?

Peggy Root Kustritz DVM, PhD, MMedEdPeggy Root Kustritz DVM, PhD, MMedEd LinkedIn profile

Professor, Small Animal Theriogenology Associate Dean of Education, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine

Communications! This is always the skill set that alumni report was of greatest value to them as a new veterinarian, and the need for clear communication is heightened by the provision of service through indirect forms of communication, such as talking to clients on the phone or via text or email, instead of face-to-face and providing telemedicine. Other skills that everyone badly needs right now are teamwork (especially the ability to communicate clearly within teams) and adaptability. I know that veterinary graduates like to stress the coursework they've done, but every graduate of an AVMA-COE accredited school is a great student and has to have demonstrated knowledge and specific clinical competencies to finish their training. It is the 'softer' skills that set candidates apart.

What laboratory animal technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Gerald Bergtrom Ph.D.Gerald Bergtrom Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Biological Sciences (Emeritus) & Teaching & Learning Consultant, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The answers here depend on why the gap year is needed. If the need is to have an income, this would need to be balanced against other desirable needs and wishes.
- Thinking about a whole gap year, the student should make a long-term commitment to skills improvement and fill in gaps in a resume or job application.
-If the new graduate can afford it, spend some time traveling, to be exposed to different cultures and languages. If the student lives in an area with a growing LatinX population, learning some Spanish would be useful.
-If it looks like the gap year will not include activities related to the job they hope to get at the end of the year, then take at least one STEM course in their area of interest so as not to lose their edge. This could be an online course (for example, a MOOC). Do it for credit if necessary, to prove (to themselves and others) that they still love and want to succeed in science.

What type of skills will young laboratory animal technicians need?

John Wilbur Ph.D.John Wilbur Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Practice, University of Arizona

In the short-term, testing skills like PCR and ELISA seems essential, but I think the enduring skills or working with a team, writing, and other communication skills are most important.

What soft skills should all laboratory animal technicians possess?

Dr. Chase Runyan

Associate Professor, Department Chair, Director of MIR/Research Scientist, Angelo State University

Adaptability will have a premium in the near future as new professionals enter the work force. Accountability in the agriculture sectors is also a highly valued asset.

List of laboratory animal technician skills to add to your resume

Laboratory animal technician skills

The most important skills for a laboratory animal technician resume and required skills for a laboratory animal technician to have include:

  • Animal Handling
  • Animal Husbandry
  • Research Animals
  • Cleanliness
  • Technical Procedures
  • Animal Species
  • Animal Facility
  • AALAS
  • Animal Cages
  • LAT
  • FDA
  • Husbandry Care
  • IACUC
  • Facility Maintenance
  • Non-Human Primates
  • Autoclaves
  • Laboratory Animal Care
  • GLP
  • American Association
  • Euthanasia
  • Sample Collection
  • Animal Health
  • USDA
  • Technical Support
  • Animal Rooms
  • Data Collection
  • Clinical Observations
  • Research Projects
  • IV
  • Animal Identification
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Cage Cards
  • Pigs
  • IM
  • Blood Collection
  • Surgical Preparation
  • Laboratory Procedures
  • Health Checks
  • Procedure Rooms
  • Research Studies
  • PPE
  • Necropsy
  • NIH
  • Surgical Procedures
  • IP
  • Catheter
  • Genotyping

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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