Laboratory manager vs senior laboratory technician

The differences between laboratory managers and senior laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a laboratory manager, becoming a senior laboratory technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a laboratory manager has an average salary of $74,314, which is higher than the $48,530 average annual salary of a senior laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a laboratory manager include lab equipment, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a senior laboratory technician are lab equipment, patients, and research projects.

Laboratory manager vs senior laboratory technician overview

	Laboratory Manager	Senior Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$74,314	$48,530
Hourly rate	$35.73	$23.33
Growth rate	3%	9%
Number of jobs	43,321	63,876
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	48	44
Years of experience	6	12

What does a laboratory manager do?

Laboratory managers provide accurate laboratory diagnosis through evaluating specimen procedures and coordinating with pathologists to validate laboratory findings. They are responsible for maintaining laboratory tools and equipment, ensuring the proper sterilization of instruments before and after use, organizing equipment based on its function, and immediately repairing or replacing defective items. A laboratory manager also secures the confidentiality of laboratory systems, keeping records of results, and releasing information to the appropriate personnel. Laboratory managers must have a broad knowledge of the scientific industry, as well as excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.

What does a senior laboratory technician do?

A Senior Laboratory Technician is responsible for supervising and coordinating scientific investigations and experiments. They supervise staff, provide technical support, and construct, maintain, and operate standard laboratory equipment.

Laboratory manager vs senior laboratory technician salary

Laboratory managers and senior laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Laboratory Manager	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$74,314	$48,530
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $111,000	Between $34,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	Meta	Genentech
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Manufacturing

Differences between laboratory manager and senior laboratory technician education

There are a few differences between a laboratory manager and a senior laboratory technician in terms of educational background:

	Laboratory Manager	Senior Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Stanford University	New York University

Laboratory manager vs senior laboratory technician demographics

Here are the differences between laboratory managers' and senior laboratory technicians' demographics:

	Laboratory Manager	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average age	48	44
Gender ratio	Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6%	Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between laboratory manager and senior laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Laboratory manager example responsibilities.

Lead laboratory investigations, OOS, deviations, change controls and CAPA.
Manage daily personnel challenges, assist with marketing and maintain appropriate standards and regulations per JCAHO, DNV.
Manage staff and oversee FDA guidelines and regulations for pharmaceutical research
Initiate and manage successful in-house design and implementation of network base LIMS database.
Manage curriculum development, authore and publish lab manuals in physiology and ecology.
Manage daily laboratory operations including personnel, client consulting, analyses and adherence to GLP protocols.

Senior laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Lead aerobic, anaerobic and UV light testing, chemical residue testing and centrifuge to separate chemicals from water.
Operate a binary distillation column using LabView to separate a mixture of methanol and water.
Provide and sign certificate of analyses for wet chemistry and microbiology.
Perform CFU-blast, CFU-C, CFU-D, CFU-S assays.
Create raw material library on FTIR.
Perform manual titration, including testing bacteria and other water tests.

Laboratory manager vs senior laboratory technician skills

Common laboratory manager skills

Lab Equipment, 12%
Patients, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Chemistry, 6%
Clinical Laboratory, 5%
Lab Safety, 5%

Common senior laboratory technician skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
Patients, 8%
Research Projects, 5%
Cell Culture, 4%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Molecular Biology, 4%

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Laboratory Manager vs Senior Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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