How To Become A Laboratory Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a laboratory associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Benjamin Ford,

Xenia Morin Ph.D.

Laboratory associates assist scientists in performing experiments in the lab. They may specialize in many science fields, including microbiology and chemistry. In some settings, laboratory associates are known as associate lab technicians. In these scenarios, their job is to help lab technicians operate and care for equipment.

As a lab associate, your role is primarily to assist. This means that your daily routine depends largely on the needs of the scientist or the research team. You may answer the phone, schedule experiments, record data, and clean the workspace. Laboratory associates may also take inventory of lab supplies and calibrate equipment.

The responsibilities of a lab associate vary between organizations, and so do the educational requirements. You'll need to complete the required education in your field, which may be a medical laboratory technology program or a bachelor's degree.

What general advice would you give to a laboratory associate?

Benjamin Ford

Professor and Chair, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Students graduating this year have come through a life-changing year. I'd encourage them to embrace that change. Rather than putting this year behind them and moving on, I'd like graduates to reflect on what worked and didn't work in the past year, and use that reflection to improve themselves and the world. This could be as simple as continuing to hone the time management skills we were all forced to develop, or as large as working to dismantle one of the structural inequalities that became glaringly apparent as nations struggled with health and economy.

ScoreLaboratory AssociateUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,756

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 12.19%

Black or African American 9.96%

Hispanic or Latino 17.53%

Unknown 5.13%

White 54.38%

Gender

female 57.83%

male 42.17%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a laboratory associate

Explore laboratory associate education requirements

Most common laboratory associate degrees

Bachelor's

62.7 %

Associate

14.2 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Start to develop specific laboratory associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	9.81%
Specimen Handling	6.11%
Phlebotomy	5.83%
Chemistry	5.63%
Customer Service	4.16%

Complete relevant laboratory associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New laboratory associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a laboratory associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real laboratory associate resumes.

Research laboratory associate duties and responsibilities

Manage supply inventory and maintain cleanliness.
Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Direct patient care, phlebotomy, medical billing, clinical laboratory specimen collection, reference laboratory coordinator, specimen courier.
Operate combines to harvest crops for yield-testing field crops.

Prepare your laboratory associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your laboratory associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a laboratory associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable laboratory associate resume templates

Build a professional laboratory associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your laboratory associate resume.