How To Become A Senior Laboratory Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior laboratory analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a senior laboratory analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.33 an hour? That's $61,006 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 3,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a senior laboratory analyst?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreSenior Laboratory AnalystUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,006

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 10.51%

Black or African American 9.42%

Hispanic or Latino 16.67%

Unknown 5.69%

White 56.73%

Gender

female 37.80%

male 62.20%

Age - 35

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 - 35

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior laboratory analyst

Explore senior laboratory analyst education requirements

Most common senior laboratory analyst degrees

Bachelor's

69.4 %

Associate

15.0 %

Master's

11.2 %

Start to develop specific senior laboratory analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Lims	9.46%
Epic	9.40%
LIS	7.28%
GMP	6.62%
Lab Equipment	5.80%

Complete relevant senior laboratory analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior laboratory analysts 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 senior laboratory analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior laboratory analyst resumes.

Research senior laboratory analyst duties and responsibilities

Work and manage implementation of regulatory requirements for lab, including: EPA, ASTM, and NELAC.
Organize, direct, document, and staff operations' QC inspection training program.
Prepare and rout investigation and deviation reports to ensure FDA compliance and determine root cause.
Master lab techniques in ELISA, DNA/RNA isolation, qRT-PCR, gene expression and genotyping.

Get senior laboratory analyst experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior laboratory analyst. The most common roles before becoming a senior laboratory analyst include laboratory technician, laboratory analyst team lead and research assistant.

Prepare your senior laboratory analyst resume

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

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