Senior laboratory assistant vs laboratory director

The differences between senior laboratory assistants and laboratory directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a senior laboratory assistant, becoming a laboratory director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a laboratory director has an average salary of $92,971, which is higher than the $40,806 average annual salary of a senior laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a senior laboratory assistant include patients, specimen processing and lab equipment. The most important skills for a laboratory director are clinical laboratory, patients, and patient care.

Senior laboratory assistant vs laboratory director overview

	Senior Laboratory Assistant	Laboratory Director
Yearly salary	$40,806	$92,971
Hourly rate	$19.62	$44.70
Growth rate	16%	28%
Number of jobs	39,606	59,500
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	12	6

Senior laboratory assistant vs laboratory director salary

Senior laboratory assistants and laboratory directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Laboratory Assistant	Laboratory Director
Average salary	$40,806	$92,971
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $66,000	Between $55,000 And $156,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	Reed Smith
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between senior laboratory assistant and laboratory director education

There are a few differences between a senior laboratory assistant and a laboratory director in terms of educational background:

	Senior Laboratory Assistant	Laboratory Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	New York University	University of Pennsylvania

Senior laboratory assistant vs laboratory director demographics

Here are the differences between senior laboratory assistants' and laboratory directors' demographics:

	Senior Laboratory Assistant	Laboratory Director
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9%	Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 13.3% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 8.1% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	12%

Differences between senior laboratory assistant and laboratory director duties and responsibilities

Senior laboratory assistant example 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.
Conduct PCR to amplify genes for sequencing.
Design layout for new type of GMP laboratory.

Laboratory director example responsibilities.

Perform and manage quality control, maintenance and calibration of all equipment in hematology, coagulation and urinalysis.
Set up forensic DNA laboratory, train laboratory technicians in advance molecular techniques, and manage day-to-day activities of forensic DNA laboratory
Consult patients on various laboratory procedures involve in IVF.
Supervise 8 managers and 130 full-time employees (FTEs).
Focus on sterility, endotoxin, water and bioburden testing.
Restore compliance integrity of lab back to full capacity in time for JCAHO inspection.

Senior laboratory assistant vs laboratory director skills

Common senior laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 30%
Specimen Processing, 10%
Lab Equipment, 9%
Microbiology, 9%
Patient Care, 9%
Laboratory Procedures, 5%

Common laboratory director skills

Clinical Laboratory, 11%
Patients, 10%
Patient Care, 9%
CLIA, 6%
Test Results, 6%
Laboratory Services, 4%

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Senior Laboratory Assistant
Senior Laboratory Assistant vs Laboratory Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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