How To Become A Research Laboratory Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a research laboratory manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Ben Brown,

Daniel Patten Ph.D.

Research laboratory managers are management specialists in charge of ensuring that laboratories run smoothly by enforcing safety lab regulations. As a research lab manager, you are responsible for coordinating lab equipment repair and maintenance as well as training lab workers and assistants on how to utilize the equipment properly. You must conduct experiments and analyze research data to complete research tasks. A good manager of research laboratories must also keep track of the inventory of lab equipment and coordinate the purchasing of lab supplies.

To begin your career as a research lab manager, you need a college degree in a relevant discipline and a few years of laboratory experience. Some businesses could request a postgraduate degree in an associated discipline. Additionally, you need great interpersonal, communication, leadership, organizational, and project management skills for this position. You can make an average salary of $62,591 as a research lab manager.

What general advice would you give to a research laboratory manager?

Ben Brown

Professor, Ohio State University

There are a lot of good jobs out there, and people are hiring. The job market just looks a little different because most of it is virtual. This may mean that the applicant has to source out employers instead of the employers coming to the student in the form of career fairs.

ScoreResearch Laboratory ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,333

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 26.29%

Black or African American 6.48%

Hispanic or Latino 9.74%

Unknown 4.14%

White 53.20%

Gender

female 54.76%

male 45.24%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a research laboratory manager

Explore research laboratory manager education requirements

Most common research laboratory manager degrees

Bachelor's

67.4 %

Master's

19.5 %

Doctorate

8.4 %

Start to develop specific research laboratory manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Lab Equipment	9.28%
Research Projects	7.78%
Lab Safety	6.33%
Cell Culture	4.98%
Patients	4.91%

Complete relevant research laboratory manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New research laboratory managers 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 research laboratory manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real research laboratory manager resumes.

Research research laboratory manager duties and responsibilities

Manage and order equipment and materials for lab usage with NIH grant and write monthly credit card reports.
Manage laboratory team activities v. assist set up and revision of project plans under the guidance of NIH vi.
Design, development and validation of cell-base assays; infrare EMSA analysis, western blotting, ELISA.
Prepare, perform RT-PCR and Q-PCR and analyze the results.

Prepare your research laboratory manager resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable research laboratory manager resume templates

Build a professional research laboratory manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your research laboratory manager resume.

Apply for research laboratory manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a research laboratory manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do research laboratory managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Research laboratory manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Cons

The struggle of not breaking a certain research topic.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

It's all about getting data, follow up on project, ensuring that jobs are done properly, write reports after a project is done. You travel if the job or project you're handling is out station.

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019