What is a Research Laboratory Technician?

The Research Laboratory Technician is a part of a larger scientific team, doing all sorts of detailed tasks which clear up the schedules of other, fellow scientists, allowing them to focus on the larger and more difficult duties. A Technician's charges may vary, but usually include receiving, labeling, and preparing samples, conducting tests, constructing and maintaining various scientific equipment, and keeping records.

This is a good position for recent graduates, though not all labs are looking for degree holders. It is, however, a position that for many acts as a stepping stone to PhDs and higher certification and employment. A Laboratory Technician may find themselves pursuing a different career path, as it is very versatile in terms of advancement.

What Does a Research Laboratory Technician Do

There are certain skills that many research laboratory technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed observational skills, technical skills and analytical skills.

Learn more about what a Research Laboratory Technician does

How To Become a Research Laboratory Technician

If you're interested in becoming a research laboratory technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 71.8% of research laboratory technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 9.6% of research laboratory technicians have master's degrees. Even though most research laboratory technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Research Laboratory Technician

Top Research Laboratory Technician Jobs Near You

Career Path For a Research Laboratory Technician

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a research laboratory technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as research technician, progress to a title such as research associate and then eventually end up with the title senior research associate.

Research Laboratory Technician

Average Salary for a Research Laboratory Technician

Research Laboratory Technicians in America make an average salary of $38,308 per year or $18 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $48,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $30,000 per year.

Average Research Laboratory Technician Salary

$38,308 Yearly

$18.42 hourly

$30,00010%

$38,000Median

$48,00090%

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What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Research Laboratory Technician

The role of a research laboratory technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general research laboratory technician responsibilities:

Performs diagnostic/analytic/genetic testing of specimens using molecular, dna,
Performs a variety of laboratory experiments using both routine
The person in this position: will work with an intermediate degree of supervision

There are several types of research laboratory technician, including:

Laboratory Technician

Role:

As a laboratory technician, you get to do all the nitty gritty work, like collecting samples. But you also get to study and take part in conducting tests. So it's not all nitty gritty, at least.

The majority of your day as a laboratory technician will be spent in a lab, surrounded by bodily fluids, chemicals, and organic matter. If any of that makes you squirmish just thinking about it, then it's not too late to turn back.

Employers prefer that you have a bachelor's degree before pursuing a position as a laboratory tech, but associate degrees are also welcome. Before you start, you'll need to rack up a few years of experience in lab work. It probably wouldn't be a good thing if you blew up the lab on your first day.

Average Salary: $40,038
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Research Fellow

Role:

As the name implies, as a Research Fellow, you will be conducting research and analysis of comprehensive results, literature, and data. You will be supervising research assistants and recruiting study participants for specific studies.

For the educational requirement, a Research Fellow needs to have a doctorate relevant to the discipline and should have published papers that are peer-reviewed. As a Research Fellow, you can be supervised or independent.

The top skills Research Fellow applicants include in their resumes include Molecular Biology, Data Analysis, Cell Culture, Research Projects, and Ph.D. You might want to brush up your knowledge on these things and make sure you are knowledgeable in the field you will be applying to.

You can earn an average annual salary of $49,120 with a job growth rate of 8%. You can also explore other careers like being a Research Scientist, a Scientist, and a Senior Scientist.

Average Salary: $53,823
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Research Technician

Role:

If you have a passion for science and enjoy the challenges of solving scientific research, analysis, and investigation, then you might consider a career as a research technician.

Generally, a research technician or research scientist is a person who helps scientists with their research and experiments in a laboratory. Research technician is a job that offers you job satisfaction, the flexibility of work, high salaries, variable tasks, and a stable employment market.

A technician position may bring a satisfying role as the key member of a laboratory or may act as a stepping stone to a Ph.D., medical, or other job opportunities.

Average Salary: $43,034
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

States With The Most Research Laboratory Technician Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active research laboratory technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where research laboratory technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Research Laboratory Technician Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	4,306	$45,293
2	New York	2,744	$42,771
3	Massachusetts	2,404	$43,850
4	Texas	2,373	$32,865
5	Florida	1,947	$28,156
6	Pennsylvania	1,734	$35,018
7	Illinois	1,462	$45,611
8	New Jersey	1,265	$43,056
9	Washington	1,261	$40,509
10	Ohio	1,221	$34,977
11	Virginia	1,139	$33,717
12	Maryland	1,128	$37,307
13	North Carolina	1,072	$29,637
14	Georgia	1,066	$37,610
15	Michigan	1,049	$35,495
16	Minnesota	955	$36,587
17	Arizona	912	$35,608
18	Colorado	852	$35,592
19	Tennessee	805	$36,922
20	Wisconsin	790	$41,545
21	Oregon	708	$29,114
22	Missouri	704	$30,964
23	Indiana	631	$27,660
24	Utah	464	$27,157
25	Iowa	460	$35,570
26	Connecticut	439	$44,173
27	Alabama	391	$27,038
28	Oklahoma	339	$35,967
29	South Carolina	335	$31,035
30	Kansas	329	$30,466
31	Kentucky	326	$30,694
32	Louisiana	325	$32,595
33	Arkansas	318	$36,993
34	Nebraska	311	$34,487
35	New Hampshire	304	$42,903
36	New Mexico	277	$38,688
37	West Virginia	219	$32,583
38	South Dakota	218	$27,758
39	Idaho	208	$33,028
40	Mississippi	208	$32,780
41	Nevada	202	$34,591
42	Maine	181	$32,572
43	Rhode Island	164	$38,442
44	Vermont	161	$29,364
45	Delaware	157	$34,135
46	Montana	155	$27,995
47	Alaska	135	$34,499
48	North Dakota	124	$27,731
49	Hawaii	107	$40,761
50	Wyoming	93	$36,517

Research Laboratory Technician Education

Research Laboratory Technician Majors

Biology

39.0 %

Chemistry

12.3 %

Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology

9.2 %

Research Laboratory Technician Degrees

Bachelors

71.8 %

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.8% of research laboratory technicians listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as observational skills and technical skills are important as well.

Patients, 8.8%

Chemistry, 6.9%

Laboratory Equipment, 6.5%

Cell Culture, 5.5%

Research Data, 3.8%

Other Skills, 68.5%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Research Laboratory Technician Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Research Laboratory Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Research Laboratory Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Research Laboratory Technician diversity

Research Laboratory Technician Gender Distribution

Female

51%

Male

49%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among research laboratory technicians, 51.0% of them are women, while 49.0% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among research laboratory technicians is White, which makes up 49.9% of all research laboratory technicians.

The most common foreign language among research laboratory technicians is Spanish at 42.1%.

Online Courses For Research Laboratory Technician That You May Like

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Best States For a Research Laboratory Technician

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a research laboratory technician. The best states for people in this position are Illinois, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Research laboratory technicians make the most in Illinois with an average salary of $45,611. Whereas in California and Connecticut, they would average $45,293 and $44,173, respectively. While research laboratory technicians would only make an average of $43,850 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Massachusetts

Total Research Laboratory Technician Jobs: 2,404

Highest 10% Earn:

$55,000

Location Quotient:

1.89

$43,850

Avg. Salary

View 2,404 Research Laboratory Technician Jobs In MA

2. New Hampshire

Total Research Laboratory Technician Jobs: 304

Highest 10% Earn:

$53,000

Location Quotient:

1.25

$42,903

Avg. Salary

View 304 Research Laboratory Technician Jobs In NH

3. New York

Total Research Laboratory Technician Jobs: 2,744

Highest 10% Earn:

$55,000

Location Quotient:

1.54

$42,771

Avg. Salary

View 2,744 Research Laboratory Technician Jobs In NY

Full List Of Best States For Research Laboratory Technicians

How Do Research Laboratory Technicians Rate Their Jobs?

Top Research Laboratory Technician Employers

Most Common Employers For Research Laboratory Technician

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	University of Southern California	$48,229	$23.19	87
2	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	$43,094	$20.72	10
3	Pharmaceutical Product Development	$41,303	$19.86	21
4	Creighton University	$41,302	$19.86	14
5	University of Wisconsin System	$41,236	$19.82	9
6	Massachusetts General Hospital	$41,156	$19.79	20
7	University of Michigan	$40,794	$19.61	170
8	University of Massachusetts Medical School	$40,485	$19.46	12
9	Monsanto	$39,659	$19.07	15
10	USDA	$38,966	$18.73	9

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Updated April 6, 2023

What is a Research Laboratory Technician?

What Does a Research Laboratory Technician Do

How To Become a Research Laboratory Technician

Career Path For a Research Laboratory Technician

Average Salary for a Research Laboratory Technician

Roles and Types of Research Laboratory Technician

Laboratory Technician

Role:

Research Fellow

Role:

Research Technician

Role:

States With The Most Research Laboratory Technician Jobs

Number Of Research Laboratory Technician Jobs By State

Research Laboratory Technician Education

Research Laboratory Technician Majors

Research Laboratory Technician Degrees

Top Colleges for Research Laboratory Technicians

1. Cornell University

2. Duke University

3. Harvard University

4. Johns Hopkins University

5. Stanford University

6. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

7. University of Florida

8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

9. University of Southern California

10. Columbia University in the City of New York

Top Skills For a Research Laboratory Technician

Choose From 10+ Customizable Research Laboratory Technician Resume templates

Research Laboratory Technician diversity

Research Laboratory Technician Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Research Laboratory Technician That You May Like

Best States For a Research Laboratory Technician

How Do Research Laboratory Technicians Rate Their Jobs?

Top Research Laboratory Technician Employers

Most Common Employers For Research Laboratory Technician

Research Laboratory Technician Videos

Research Laboratory Technician Related Careers

Research Laboratory Technician Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs