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Technical specialist, cytology vs senior laboratory technician

The differences between technical specialists, cytology and senior laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a technical specialist, cytology and a senior laboratory technician. Additionally, a technical specialist, cytology has an average salary of $54,859, which is higher than the $48,530 average annual salary of a senior laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a technical specialist, cytology include clinical laboratory, non-gyn and FNA. The most important skills for a senior laboratory technician are lab equipment, patients, and research projects.

Technical specialist, cytology vs senior laboratory technician overview

Technical Specialist, CytologySenior Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary$54,859$48,530
Hourly rate$26.37$23.33
Growth rate10%9%
Number of jobs71,64763,876
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4444
Years of experience1212

Technical specialist, cytology vs senior laboratory technician salary

Technical specialists, cytology and senior laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technical Specialist, CytologySenior Laboratory Technician
Average salary$54,859$48,530
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $73,000Between $34,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Genentech
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between technical specialist, cytology and senior laboratory technician education

There are a few differences between a technical specialist, cytology and a senior laboratory technician in terms of educational background:

Technical Specialist, CytologySenior Laboratory Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorBiologyBiology
Most common collegeNew York UniversityNew York University

Technical specialist, cytology vs senior laboratory technician demographics

Here are the differences between technical specialists, cytology' and senior laboratory technicians' demographics:

Technical Specialist, CytologySenior Laboratory Technician
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 22.4% Female, 77.6%Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 12.2% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between technical specialist, cytology and senior laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Technical specialist, cytology example responsibilities.

  • Manage and supervise the operations of the cytology department.
  • Perform QC and QA of all slides process.
  • Numbered, stain and cover slip all GYN and non-GYN specimens.
  • Prepare GYN and Non-GYN specimens, make slides, and stain for cytologist and pathologist to interpret.
  • Work with Thinprep and Surepath cytology and pathology preparations.
  • Initiate and implement projects for cost reduction, productivity improvement, and increase equipment availability/reliability and to meet ISO compliance.
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Senior laboratory technician example responsibilities.

  • Lead aerobic, anaerobic and UV light testing, chemical residue testing and centrifuge to separate chemicals from water.
  • Operate a binary distillation column using LabView to separate a mixture of methanol and water.
  • Provide and sign certificate of analyses for wet chemistry and microbiology.
  • Perform CFU-blast, CFU-C, CFU-D, CFU-S assays.
  • Create raw material library on FTIR.
  • Perform manual titration, including testing bacteria and other water tests.
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Technical specialist, cytology vs senior laboratory technician skills

Common technical specialist, cytology skills
  • Clinical Laboratory, 22%
  • Non-Gyn, 18%
  • FNA, 9%
  • Computer System, 8%
  • Cell Samples, 7%
  • Laboratory Equipment, 6%
Common senior laboratory technician skills
  • Lab Equipment, 9%
  • Patients, 8%
  • Research Projects, 5%
  • Cell Culture, 4%
  • Safety Procedures, 4%
  • Molecular Biology, 4%

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