Laboratory specialist vs research laboratory technician

The differences between laboratory specialists and research laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a laboratory specialist, becoming a research laboratory technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a laboratory specialist has an average salary of $50,357, which is higher than the $38,308 average annual salary of a research laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a laboratory specialist include chemistry, patients and test results. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.

Laboratory specialist vs research laboratory technician overview

	Laboratory Specialist	Research Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$50,357	$38,308
Hourly rate	$24.21	$18.42
Growth rate	10%	9%
Number of jobs	68,634	86,476
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	2	4

What does a laboratory specialist do?

A laboratory specialist develops the areas assigned to them and promotes maximum resource allocation and utilization to achieve their goals. Laboratory specialists handle storage and backup devices, support telecommunication-associated equipment, and relay customer requests and issues. It is their job to process specimens in toxicology, coagulation, microbiology, hematology, chemistry, and urinalysis. Skills and knowledge in a photo lab, cell culture, customer service, and test cases are necessary for this position.

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 specialist vs research laboratory technician salary

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

	Laboratory Specialist	Research Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$50,357	$38,308
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $69,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Illinois
Best paying company	Nokia	Accenture
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between laboratory specialist and research laboratory technician education

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

	Laboratory Specialist	Research Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	SUNY Stony Brook	Cornell University

Laboratory specialist vs research laboratory technician demographics

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

	Laboratory Specialist	Research Laboratory Technician
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7%	Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.0% 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 specialist and research laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Laboratory specialist example responsibilities.

Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Process specimens in the areas of chemistry, toxicology, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and microbiology.
Perform general routine clinical laboratory testing in the areas of clinical chemistry, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis and blood bank.
Perform DNA and RNA isolation, standard and real time PCR, primer design, gene sequence analysis.
Perform clinical laboratory procedures in hematology, clinical chemistry and urinalysis.
Provide customer service to patients and clinicians while collecting specimens and providing patient education.

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 specialist vs research laboratory technician skills

Common laboratory specialist skills

Chemistry, 10%
Patients, 10%
Test Results, 8%
Laboratory Tests, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Centrifuges, 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 Specialist
Laboratory Specialist vs Research Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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