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The differences between public health microbiologists 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 public health microbiologist, becoming a research laboratory technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a public health microbiologist has an average salary of $64,113, which is higher than the $38,308 average annual salary of a research laboratory technician.
The top three skills for a public health microbiologist include extraction, quality control procedures and body fluids. The most important skills for a research laboratory technician are patients, chemistry, and laboratory equipment.
| Public Health Microbiologist | Research Laboratory Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $64,113 | $38,308 |
| Hourly rate | $30.82 | $18.42 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 65,489 | 86,476 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 90% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Public health administrators are like health administrators, except that their focus is on population health. When working at an office, outreach is a critical part of their work. They will need to interface with the community they serve. They travel outside of the office for fundraising, public speaking, and public engagement on a regular basis. Their responsibilities include developing community programs that improve public health, assessing community health issues, and creating budgets related to public health operations.
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.
Public health microbiologists and research laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Health Microbiologist | Research Laboratory Technician | |
| Average salary | $64,113 | $38,308 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $90,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Chicago, IL |
| Highest paying state | - | Illinois |
| Best paying company | - | Accenture |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a public health microbiologist and a research laboratory technician in terms of educational background:
| Public Health Microbiologist | Research Laboratory Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 90% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Microbiology | Biology |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between public health microbiologists' and research laboratory technicians' demographics:
| Public Health Microbiologist | Research Laboratory Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7% | Male, 49.0% Female, 51.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% Asian, 11.1% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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 | 10% | 6% |