How to Become a Lab Technician

Unless you work remotely or from home, your employer or facility expects to provide most of the equipment you need. You will even receive training on instruments and advanced machinery. The items below include the supplies and stationary equipment that you might need to familiarize yourself with:

• Reagent tests, reagents, and SNAP assays
• Collection kits for samples - vials, slides, and biopsy jars; racks helpful to hold multiple samples
• Biohazardous waste containers and bags to safely dispose of needles, syringes, and biological or contaminated waste
• A disinfectant and cleaning supplies to decontaminate floors and counter surfaces; will likely require special cleaning agents to maintain machines
• Syringes and needles to collect samples and administer pharmaceuticals in specialized tests (examples: IV administration of radioactive materials or cortisol in screening for Addison's disease in dogs)
• Laboratory testing machines - blood chemistry, immunoassay, and hematology (complete blood count or CBC) 
• Scientific laboratory equipment for industrial undertakings - spectrometers as well as pipettes, funnels, and fumigation hoods
• Furniture such as stools and lab tables
• Microscopes for cell and tissue analysis as well as microbiology and parasitology
• A computer for uploading, analyzing, and storing results

As a lab technician, your work is mostly indoors where the equipment has easy access to electricity and a controlled climate. Clinical and medical lab techs work in a hospital, clinic, or veterinary office. Industrial technicians may collect some of their samples out in the field and run a few tests on mobile devices. You may spend part of the day traveling from one place to another and then run your samples in a laboratory once you finish your collections. Some human and animal collections are also mobile undertakings, especially for livestock like cattle and horses. Scientific lab technician positions are conducive to a hybrid work environment. For example, you can do your research and collect data at home and perhaps conduct experiments in the safety of a laboratory. 

In your role as a lab technician, you will experience quite a lot of overlap with other professions. Most likely, you will have a team of other lab technicians and a technologist or two. Depending on your field, you will work for a field scientist, a doctor, or a veterinarian. Your colleagues in other fields will include dental hygienists, nurses, and possibly veterinary/medical assistants. Sometimes you work shoulder-to-shoulder with others in the field, but often you will be communicating with them via telephone and email over lab results. A good rapport with your teammates helps ensure good quality control in the collection and handling of samples or experimental materials.  

Some lab technician jobs are eight-hour shifts, although long hours for those in specialized and industrial fields are possible. Since many clinics, hospitals, and doctors' offices are open 24 hours, clinical lab technicians can expect to always take shifts, including overnight and early mornings. If you work in the private sector at a small practice, you may work longer hours during the week but have the weekend free. Large laboratories typically require you to be available seven days a week, but part-time positions are also an option for some. Long and laborious hours are not habitual for lab technicians in well-staffed facilities. You will most often work between 35 and 45 hours a week. There is high demand for holiday, overnight, and weekend workers.

While opportunities are limited for advancement in established laboratories, you can find higher positions within the field when you move around. As mentioned before, specialties exist that are challenging and pay higher than general laboratory technicians. You can also become a laboratory technologist, a position which requires work with more advanced lab equipment and puts you in a supervisory role.

Spherion is a leader in the industry and has an excellent reputation for connecting qualified professionals with businesses in different industries. Lab technicians can rely on the team at Spherion to have access to networking opportunities to find a reputable company to secure employment. The team at Spherion has the tools, skills, and expertise to help you be matched with the right company. You can have access to plenty of options. Additional benefits of working  with Spherion include:

• Being paid on a weekly basis
• Flexibility
• Having access to a personal contact who will assist you in searching for a job
• Training opportunities to increase your skills
• Access to many job opportunities in the local area
• A quick and easy interview process

A lab technician typically has an associate degree in clinical sciences with an accompanying certificate while a technologist has a bachelor's degree in a related field like biology. Technologists often find themselves in supervisory or educational roles. Lab technologists, because of their advanced education, work in clinics or industries with a requirement for advanced technical knowledge.

Lab technicians mostly work in the public sector in hospitals or clinics. They also work frequently in outpatient facilities where they earn higher than average wages. Lab technicians are prevalent in scientific labs as well as industrial facilities.

Applying for a job as a lab technician is easy with Spherion. You can search for lab technician jobs on Spherion.com by job title and location. If you don’t see the perfect role, you can submit an open application. Once you submit your resume through Spherion’s open application, a recruiter from the office closest to you will reach out with details about potential lab technician roles that fit your skill set and professional goals.