Laboratory assistant vs research laboratory technician

The differences between laboratory assistants and research laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a laboratory assistant, becoming a research laboratory technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a research laboratory technician has an average salary of $38,308, which is higher than the $34,168 average annual salary of a laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a laboratory assistant include patients, phlebotomy and customer service. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.

Laboratory assistant vs research laboratory technician overview

	Laboratory Assistant	Research Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$34,168	$38,308
Hourly rate	$16.43	$18.42
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	50,853	86,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	12	4

What does a laboratory assistant do?

Laboratory assistants work for researchers, scientists, or professors in the laboratory setting. They are expected to have a solid background in the field of study of the laboratory they are assigned to. They do a variety of tasks in the laboratory, such as setting up equipment, observing experiments, analyzing results, creating reports, and recommending improvements to the testing. They may also be assigned to clean and sanitize laboratory equipment as needed. Laboratory assistants should have good research skills, analytical skills, and organizational skills.

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.

Laboratory assistant vs research laboratory technician salary

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

	Laboratory Assistant	Research Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$34,168	$38,308
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $44,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Illinois
Best paying company	UST Global	Accenture
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between laboratory assistant and research laboratory technician education

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

	Laboratory Assistant	Research Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	New York University	Cornell University

Laboratory assistant vs research laboratory technician demographics

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

	Laboratory Assistant	Research Laboratory Technician
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%	Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 13.9% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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 laboratory assistant and research laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Comfort frighten patients and maintain an exceptionally bright professional demeanor to accomplish a procedure that makes most people very uncomfortable.
Maintain and QC check laboratory equipment.
Preform laboratory duties using microscopes, centrifuges and a host of other laboratory equipment.
Provide excellent customer service to patients while accurately updating patient demographics, insurance and billing information in LabCorp LCM program.
Provide continuing education in the form of periodic in-services relating the phlebotomy procedures, tests and proper specimen collection requirements.
Process eyewear to meet national ANSII and OSHA standards.

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.

Laboratory assistant vs research laboratory technician skills

Common laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 15%
Phlebotomy, 12%
Customer Service, 6%
Lab Procedures, 5%
Specimen Collection, 5%
Patient Care, 5%

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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Laboratory Assistant
Laboratory Assistant vs Research Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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