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Laboratory Technician

Types of Degrees Laboratory Technician Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Laboratory Technician may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	62
Associate’s Degree	2,392
Bachelor’s Degree	159
Master’s Degree	353

What Laboratory Technician Majors Need to Know

Studies in Laboratory Technician emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Laboratory Technician graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Laboratory Technician emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Biology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Chemistry — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set developed in a Laboratory Technician program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Complex Problem Solving — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Laboratory Technician careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Near Vision — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Laboratory Technician graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Getting Information	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.8 / 7
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	3.8 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.7 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Laboratory Technician professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Laboratory information system LIS	Medical software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Specimen labeling system software	Label making software	—
Brady Specimen Labeling System	Label making software	—
Cerner Millennium	Medical software	—
Presentation software	Presentation software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Laboratory Technician graduates include:

• Histotechnician
• Histologic Aide
• Histology Coordinator
• Histology Assistant
• Clinical Histology Technician (Clinical Histology Tech)
• Histology Lab Assistant (Histology Laboratory Assistant)
• Histology Technician (HT)
• Histologist
• Histology Consultant
• Mohs Technician (Mohs Tech)
• Histologic Technician (HT)
• Certified Histologic Technician (Certified Histologic Tech)
• Histology Laboratory Aide
• Tissue Technician
• Hematology Technician

What Can You Do With a Laboratory Technician Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Laboratory Technician commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Histology Technicians	-0.2%	$80,721	$64,080–$97,363
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	12.4%	$155,908	$123,571–$188,246

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Laboratory Technician graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	34.3%
Bachelor’s degree	16.3%
Master’s degree	9.5%
Postsecondary certificate	9.3%
Doctoral degree	7.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	7.5%
Some college courses	6.6%
Post-doctoral training	4.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.6%
First professional degree	2.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Laboratory Technician?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 81.2% of Laboratory Technician degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,703	81.2%
Men	626	18.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Laboratory Technician graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,802	54.1%
Asian	294	8.8%
Hispanic or Latino	531	16.0%
Black or African American	414	12.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	35	1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	8	0.2%
Two or More Races	113	3.4%
Race Unknown	97	2.9%
International Students	35	1.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Laboratory Technician Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Laboratory Technician graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$42,942
4 years	$39,910
5 years	$44,672

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,672 — roughly 4% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Laboratory Technician Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Laboratory Technician. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	7	15
Bachelor’s	1	3

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Laboratory Technician Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Laboratory Technician graduates earn a median of $39,910 four years after completion — roughly 5% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	20,443
Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist	9,347
Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist	3,893
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician	1,964
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions, Other	895
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	614
Histologic Technician	260
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	241
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	127

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.