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

What is a senior laboratory assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Martin Renaldi MT (ASCP), MPA,

Xenia Morin Ph.D.

The average senior laboratory assistant salary is $40,806. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an biology major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become a senior laboratory assistant. Senior laboratory assistants with a Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 16% and produce 117,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

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

Martin Renaldi MT (ASCP), MPA

Assistant Professor / MLS Program Director, Northern Michigan University

Experience. I have found through my time in the realm that an experienced lab tech is going to be highly sought after and henceforth will have optimal pay opportunities. As the word implies, experience can only be achieved through 'time in the lab' which means you have to put in your time to gather that resume boosting element, experience. Once that happens, then even more doors open up in the profession.

ScoreSenior Laboratory AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,806

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 13.26%

Black or African American 9.72%

Hispanic or Latino 17.72%

Unknown 5.14%

White 53.35%

Gender

female 59.92%

male 40.08%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior laboratory assistant

Explore senior laboratory assistant education requirements

Most common senior laboratory assistant degrees

Bachelor's

60.8 %

Associate

14.6 %

Master's

9.8 %

Start to develop specific senior laboratory assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	29.67%
Specimen Processing	9.63%
Lab Equipment	9.43%
Microbiology	9.23%
Patient Care	8.59%

Complete relevant senior laboratory assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior laboratory assistants 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 assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior laboratory assistant resumes.

Research senior laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage, train and teach small groups of organic chemistry students with informal, fun learning environment.
Manage daily laboratory operations including personnel, client consulting, analyses and adherence to GLP protocols.
Perform daily maintenance and QC on hematology and chemistry analyzers.
Help in entering results in the LIS.

Get senior laboratory assistant experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a senior laboratory assistant. The most common roles before becoming a senior laboratory assistant include laboratory assistant, phlebotomist team lead and internship.

Apply for senior laboratory assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior laboratory assistant 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 senior laboratory assistants rate their job?

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Senior laboratory assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

All of it. Enjoy CAP accreditation visits. Scheduling, policy procedures making.. QC program