CCollegeMatcher

Biological Technicians

US occupation · SOC 19-4021

Job titles people report: Biological Science Lab Tech (Biological Science Laboratory Technician), Biological Science Technician (Biological Science Tech), Biologist Aide, Biologist Technician (Biologist Tech), Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech), Fisheries Biological Technician (Fisheries Biological Tech), Marine Fisheries Technician (Marine Fisheries Tech), Microbiology Technician (Microbiology Tech), Research Assistant, Research Associate

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$57,510
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$48,130 – $71,520
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
69,620
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+7.4%
Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)
Openings a year (projected)
9,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Assist biological and medical scientists. Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, collect data and samples, make observations, and calculate and record results. May analyze organic substances, such as blood, food, and drugs.

Main tasks

  • Conduct research, or assist in the conduct of research, including the collection of information and samples, such as blood, water, soil, plants and animals.
  • Monitor and observe experiments, recording production and test data for evaluation by research personnel.
  • Examine animals and specimens to detect the presence of disease or other problems.
  • Input data into databases.
  • Isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination.
  • Monitor laboratory work to ensure compliance with set standards.
  • Keep detailed logs of all work-related activities.
  • Use computers, computer-interfaced equipment, robotics or high-technology industrial applications to perform work duties.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 19 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Biology & Life Sciences

  • Biology/Biological Sciences, General
  • Biomedical Sciences, General
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Microbiology, General
  • Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
  • Microbiology and Immunology
10 more programmes
  • Zoology/Animal Biology
  • Animal Behavior and Ethology
  • Wildlife Biology
  • Genetics, General
  • Biostatistics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Computational Biology
  • Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
  • Aquatic Biology/Limnology
  • Neuroscience

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Biology & Life Sciences at the Major step.

Where many students take biology & life sciences

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.

Science Technologies/Technicians

  • Biology/Biotechnology Technology/Technician

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk