Microbiology technician vs biology laboratory assistant

The differences between microbiology technicians and biology laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a microbiology technician and a biology laboratory assistant. Additionally, a microbiology technician has an average salary of $40,084, which is higher than the $34,240 average annual salary of a biology laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a microbiology technician include lab equipment, test results and laboratory procedures. The most important skills for a biology laboratory assistant are lab equipment, biology laboratory, and chemistry.

Microbiology technician vs biology laboratory assistant overview

	Microbiology Technician	Biology Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$40,084	$34,240
Hourly rate	$19.27	$16.46
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	25,704	48,958
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

What does a microbiology technician do?

A Microbiology Technician helps microbiologists and other scientists conduct experiments and other tests. They usually work in labs and examine microscopic subjects, such as diseases, fungi, and algae.

What does a biology laboratory assistant do?

A biology laboratory assistant is in charge of assisting scientists or researchers and performing laboratory support tasks on a daily basis. Their responsibilities include setting up and sanitizing equipment, preparing samples, maintaining documentation of all experiments and procedures, writing laboratory reports, and running errands as needed. There are also instances where they must update databases, answer calls and correspondence, and grade student papers. Furthermore, a biology laboratory assistant must maintain the cleanliness of laboratories, all while implementing its policies and regulations.

Microbiology technician vs biology laboratory assistant salary

Microbiology technicians and biology laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Microbiology Technician	Biology Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$40,084	$34,240
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $53,000	Between $22,000 And $52,000
Highest paying City	Central Islip, NY	Bridgewater, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Thomas Jefferson University	Massachusetts General Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between microbiology technician and biology laboratory assistant education

There are a few differences between a microbiology technician and a biology laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:

	Microbiology Technician	Biology Laboratory Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Cornell University	Duke University

Microbiology technician vs biology laboratory assistant demographics

Here are the differences between microbiology technicians' and biology laboratory assistants' demographics:

	Microbiology Technician	Biology Laboratory Assistant
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%	Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 14.1% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 14.9% White, 50.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between microbiology technician and biology laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Microbiology technician example responsibilities.

Job duties begin in a general microbiology/ infectious disease laboratory focuse on cultivating and managing infectious strains of microbes.
Apply GMP and GLP documentation for all sample testing.
Prepare culture media, perform culture media QC test, and maintain appropriate inventory, perform growth promotion testing and sterility.
Quantify total aerobic plate count and total yeast and mold count.
Keep records of all tests in database and keep entries of QA checks.
Use of microscopes, autoclaves, carboys, manual and electric pipettes, etc.

Biology laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Comfort frighten patients and maintain an exceptionally bright professional demeanor to accomplish a procedure that makes most people very uncomfortable.
Set up gel electrophoresis, clean slides, run experiments.
Prepare culture media and ELISA samples following standard procedures.
Prepare stock solutions, media for growing bacteria and yeast, electrophoresis gels and pouring agar plates.
Aid students independently with laboratory work regarding basic principles of evolution, genetics, ecology, and molecular and cellular biology.
Supervise and train fellow colleagues in GC, GC-MS, ATR-IR, FTIR, UV/Vis and DSC.

Microbiology technician vs biology laboratory assistant skills

Common microbiology technician skills

Lab Equipment, 10%
Test Results, 6%
Laboratory Procedures, 5%
Environmental Monitoring, 5%
Media Preparation, 5%
FDA, 4%

Common biology laboratory assistant skills

Lab Equipment, 38%
Biology Laboratory, 6%
Chemistry, 4%
Anatomy, 4%
Physiology, 3%
Lab Experiments, 3%

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Microbiology Technician vs Biology Laboratory Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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