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Job outlook for technical laboratory specialists in the United States
Are technical laboratory specialist jobs in demand?
Technical laboratory specialist job and salary trends over time
Technical laboratory specialist jobs over time
Technical laboratory specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 486 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 497 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 497 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 204 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 198 | 0.00% |
Average technical laboratory specialist salary over time
Technical laboratory specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $59,377 | $28.55 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $57,421 | $27.61 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $56,121 | $26.98 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | $55,273 | $26.57 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $54,371 | $26.14 | +1.6% |
Technical laboratory specialist jobs by state
Most common states for technical laboratory specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 500 | 72% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 309 | 50% |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 464 | 35% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 292 | 34% |
| 5 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 254 | 34% |
| 6 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 199 | 34% |
| 7 | Delaware | 961,939 | 321 | 33% |
| 8 | Alaska | 739,795 | 238 | 32% |
| 9 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 325 | 31% |
| 10 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,735 | 29% |
| 11 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 886 | 28% |
| 12 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,519 | 27% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,503 | 27% |
| 14 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 514 | 27% |
| 15 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 339 | 25% |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,619 | 24% |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,277 | 22% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 774 | 22% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,849 | 21% |
| 20 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 300 | 21% |
Most common cities for technical laboratory specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novato | 2 | 4% | $86,886 |
| 2 | Urbana | 1 | 2% | $62,824 |
| 3 | Iowa City | 1 | 1% | $54,855 |
| 4 | Muncie | 1 | 1% | $62,941 |
| 5 | Tuscaloosa | 1 | 1% | $49,682 |
| 6 | Westminster | 1 | 1% | $57,987 |
| 7 | Boston | 3 | 0% | $71,214 |
| 8 | Phoenix | 3 | 0% | $59,616 |
| 9 | Baltimore | 2 | 0% | $76,496 |
| 10 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $53,386 |
Technical Laboratory Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of technical laboratory specialist experts
Northern Michigan University
American University
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Grand Valley State University
Tiffin University
Palm Beach State College
Southeastern Louisiana University
New York Institute of Technology
Martin Renaldi MT (ASCP), MPA
Assistant Professor / MLS Program DirectorNorthern Michigan University
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, And Treatment Professions
What Technical Laboratory Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Martin Renaldi MT (ASCP), MPA: The skills that will be required in the lab tech milieu over the next 3-5 years are the same ones that are necessary now, which is what makes the lab tech profession so lucrative. Foundational laboratory skills are a must now and will be must in the future. Once the aspiring lab tech learns and masters the foundational work, such as lab math, pipetting, dilution schemes, titrating, proper glassware use and application, basic spectrophotometry, transformational weights and measures, microscopy, etc. then they'll be readily adaptable for employment in any laboratory setting.
Anthony Baron
Teaching Assistant, Associate Software EngineerAmerican University
What soft skills should all Technical Laboratory Specialists possess?
Anthony Baron: The main soft skills I would say are needed for Computer Science software engineering are patience, perseverance, creativity, respect, teamwork, and openness to learning and teaching. Programming involves a lot of trial and error, researching, and learning better techniques for solving a problem. Due to this, patience and perseverance to reach the final goal in mind are crucial. When it comes to the learning aspect, there are many languages, frameworks, and libraries, and working with them involves a steeper learning curve than others. On top of this, there are often more elegant ways to program a solution, and many new frameworks and libraries are released throughout the industry. This is where patience and perseverance is also a virtue. Lastly, programming and creating a product are often done in teams, where working together and learning from each other is important.
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Community Engagement & Internationalization Officer, Professor of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis, Director, Executive Master’s of Science in Information Technology (EMIT) Program, Executive Director, Center for Management of IT (CMIT), Fulbright Grantee (Specialist 2014; Core 2020-21)University of Nebraska at Omaha
College of Information Science & Technology
What's a good job out of college for Technical Laboratory Specialists?
Deepak Khazanchi Ph.D.: I think the "best" and "interesting" jobs in my view will be those that leverage emerging technical skills such as AI/ML, data analytics, cybersecurity and medical informatics, with the nontechnical capabilities mentioned above.
What technical skills for a Technical Laboratory Specialist stand out to employers?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.
What type of skills will young Technical Laboratory Specialists need?
George Miller: Many organizations realize graduates cannot learn everything in college about their major but want the graduate to have a solid foundation on their field of study. The organization wants to mold the graduate to their company environment with how they do things related to the field of study. Most companies want college graduates to have good communication skills (both oral and written), critical thinking skills and be able to work well in teams. These skills have been a staple for graduates since I can remember. This is why a college graduate takes many general education courses related to these skills and many of their major courses emphasize these skills.
Going back to the previous answer I believe graduates in all fields of study will need a better knowledge of technology and easier adaptability to changing technology. Again, an IS degree is already preparing students for this.
What type of skills will young Technical Laboratory Specialists need?
Dr. Alexandra Gorgevska Ph.D.: Graduates [of all ages] will continue to need hands-on skills, the ability to work both in the group and individual settings, and, most importantly, be curious and teachable. Soft skills have taken on greater importance over the years, so we provide ongoing events for outreach, scientific communication, interview preparation, etc., to help provide students with ways to improve and grow their soft skills.
We are seeing scientific communications transitioning from in-person to remote settings, and our students are excelling at rising to the challenges. South Florida has a diverse life science career field, and our students continue to be well prepared to enter the job market and succeed in their career paths.
Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D.
Department HeadSoutheastern Louisiana University
Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Technical Laboratory Specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Mohammad Saadeh Ph.D.: IoT and automation.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Technical Laboratory Specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.: -The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.