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

What is a microbiology laboratory assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Xenia Morin Ph.D.

If you want to be a Microbiology Laboratory Assistant, you will provide support to scientists who study organisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, and algae. You will need microbiology expertise, knowledge of lab equipment, attention to detail, accuracy, teamwork and have an analytical mind. As a Microbiology Laboratory Assistant, you will be primarily involved in examining and culturing, and identifying microorganisms. You will also set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, calculate, record results, and make observations. You may analyze organic substances like food, drugs, and blood sample.

Being a Microbiology Laboratory Assistant is a great career and one that requires a bachelor's degree in microbiology or biology or another science-related field. You need experience in a laboratory or an associate degree in a laboratory assistant program. If you have experience in specimen collection and testing and undergo training in the Amerian Society for Microbiology safety guidelines, this would be a perfect career for you, and you can make an annual salary of $38,000. Although, more education and experience will bump up your pay.

What's a day at work look like for a Microbiology Laboratory Assistant?

Xenia Morin Ph.D.

Professor, Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Students who are interested in producing food will find themselves in indoor cultivation facilities as well as out in the field. Others will find themselves helping to bring more sustainable practices and awareness to the state.

ScoreMicrobiology Laboratory AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,736

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 12.24%

Black or African American 9.71%

Hispanic or Latino 17.34%

Unknown 5.12%

White 54.77%

Gender

female 66.83%

male 33.17%

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 microbiology laboratory assistant

Explore microbiology laboratory assistant education requirements

Most common microbiology laboratory assistant degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Associate

14.5 %

Master's

5.0 %

Start to develop specific microbiology laboratory assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	17.40%
Lab Equipment	12.46%
Data Entry	6.16%
Specimen Processing	5.73%
Microbiology Lab	5.42%

Complete relevant microbiology laboratory assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New microbiology laboratory assistants 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 microbiology laboratory assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real microbiology laboratory assistant resumes.

Research microbiology laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Conduct HPLC, PCR, and DNA sample preparations for ongoing microbiological study.
Include handling specimens from patients, including tissue, blood, urine, body fluids, stool, and wounds.
Stock powdered reagents and perform QC's on all new biochemicals.

Prepare your microbiology laboratory assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your microbiology laboratory assistant 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 microbiology laboratory assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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