Skip to main content
Research and the lab

Laboratory Technician

Keeps a science lab running: preparing samples and solutions, running tests and looking after the instruments scientists rely on.

Laboratory technicians work in universities, schools, hospitals, factories and research companies, supporting the scientists around them. It suits practical, careful people who like routine work done well and can follow a method exactly.

Also called Biological technician, Research technician, Science technician or Microbiology technician.

At a glance

Way in
School or apprenticeship, often in applied science, biology, chemistry and biomedical science
Pay in the US
$57,510 a year, the medianFor biological technicians, 2025
Pay in the UK
£24,000 starting to £31,000 with experience
US outlook
Much faster than average, 2025-2035
Suits you if
You like hands-on science, careful routine and keeping things organised.

Pay is a guide: it moves with the country, the employer, the sector and the years in the job. Figures from O*NET OnLine (US) and the National Careers Service (UK); see the sources below.

The work

What does a laboratory technician do?

  • Get equipment and materials ready for experiments and routine tests.
  • Make up buffers, media, cultures and reagents to the right concentration.
  • Run samples through instruments and record the results accurately.
  • Calibrate and service equipment, and keep supplies stocked.
  • Handle chemicals, biological samples and waste safely, and keep records up to date.

Where they work

  • University labs
  • Hospital laboratories
  • School and college science departments
  • Manufacturing plants
  • Contract testing labs

Skills

The skills a laboratory technician needs

  • Practical lab skillspipetting, weighing and aseptic technique
  • Lab mathsconcentrations, dilutions and unit conversions
  • Accuracyfollowing methods exactly and noting any changes
  • Equipment carecentrifuges, balances, microscopes and analysers
  • Health and safetyhazard labels, risk assessments and safe waste disposal
  • Organisationmanaging stock, schedules and records

Route in

How to become a laboratory technician

  1. Take science subjects at school, then a vocational science qualification or a laboratory apprenticeship.
  2. Alternatively, take a foundation degree or a bachelor's degree in a science subject.
  3. Start as a trainee or junior technician and learn the methods and instruments your lab uses.
  4. In the UK, you can gain Registered Science Technician (RSciTech) status, then move up to supervisor or lab manager.

Degrees people take

  • Applied science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Biomedical science

In the US, most posts ask for a bachelor's degree in a science, while in the UK many technicians start through college courses or apprenticeships.

Practise for it

The quizzes and tools that fit

Also on biofideX

Next to it

Careers to weigh against it

Sources

Where the facts come from

Written for biofideX from these public sources. The pay figures are theirs, copied as published, last read 2026-10-25.

Requirements differ by country and change over time; check with the body that registers the profession where you will work. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.

Career Paths

55 careers, side by side

Each with what it asks, how people get in, what it pays and the quizzes that fit it.

Explore the careers

Cookie Notice

We use cookies

biofideX uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and (with your consent) measure how the platform is used. Change your choices any time from the Cookie Policy.