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

What is a laboratory director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Running a laboratory is serious business. And because of that, it requires a host of skills. If you think you would like to be in charge of a laboratory, then you'll need to have great skills in leadership, communication, organization, multi-tasking, problem-solving, and budgeting. As a laboratory director, you'll be responsible for the overall operation and administration of the laboratory. Laboratory directors can end up dealing with a wide range of issues, including management of health and safety, regulatory affairs, equipment and facilities maintenance, and supervision of staff.

You will also be responsible for hiring competent and qualified personnel who can perform the required tasks. Since you'll be in a leadership position, you can also expect to collaborate with the organization's top executives to report on research goals and testing activities at the lab.

Most employers prefer to hire lab directors with a Bachelor's degree in a field of study related to the specific industry of the lab. Previous experience working in a lab as a technician or scientist is also helpful. Since you may end up managing complex budgets, you may find it beneficial to take business classes or earn an MBA.

ScoreLaboratory DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.3

Avg. Salary $92,971

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 8.12%

Black or African American 10.47%

Hispanic or Latino 14.66%

Unknown 4.27%

White 61.75%

Gender

female 44.15%

male 55.85%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a laboratory director

Explore laboratory director education requirements

Most common laboratory director degrees

Bachelor's

60.1 %

Master's

16.8 %

Doctorate

9.6 %

Start to develop specific laboratory director skills

Skills	Percentages
Clinical Laboratory	10.69%
Patients	9.70%
Patient Care	8.73%
CLIA	6.48%
Test Results	6.31%

Complete relevant laboratory director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New laboratory directors 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 director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real laboratory director resumes.

Research laboratory director duties and responsibilities

Perform and manage quality control, maintenance and calibration of all equipment in hematology, coagulation and urinalysis.
Set up forensic DNA laboratory, train laboratory technicians in advance molecular techniques, and manage day-to-day activities of forensic DNA laboratory
Consult patients on various laboratory procedures involve in IVF.
Supervise 8 managers and 130 full-time employees (FTEs).

Get laboratory director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a laboratory director. The most common roles before becoming a laboratory director include medical technologist, laboratory manager team lead and research assistant.

Prepare your laboratory director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your laboratory director 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 director 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 director resume templates

Build a professional laboratory director 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 director resume.