Biological Technicians Salary

The median biological technicians salary in the United States is $57,510 per year ($27.65/hour). Salaries range from $40,330 at the entry level to $84,940+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 69,620 biological technicians jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 3.5% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Also known asBiologistBiological ScientistMicrobiologistBiotechnologist
Median Salary
$57,510
per year
Hourly Rate
$27.65
per hour
Employment
69,620
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$40,330
25th percentile
$48,130
Median
$57,510
75th percentile
$71,520
90th percentile
$84,940

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+3.5%
As fast as average

Annual Openings

9,100
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Bachelor's degree

Biological Technicians Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for biological technicianss.

Biological technicians run bench experiments and support research at biotech, pharma, universities, hospitals, and federal labs (NIH, USDA, USGS, VA). Entry $38-52k; established $52-68k; senior/RA III $68-85k; lead/RA IV or specialty (NGS, flow cytometry, GLP toxicology) $85-115k+. BS in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or microbiology is baseline. Boston, SF Bay, San Diego, and Cambridge command 20-40% pay premiums over the national median.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Wet-lab bench technique
Precise pipetting (single and multichannel), sterile technique at the biosafety cabinet, buffer prep, serial dilutions, and gel electrophoresis. Reproducibility is the whole job β€” technique variance is what makes assays unusable.
PCR and qPCR
Primer design, thermocycler programming, melt-curve analysis, and ddPCR for absolute quantification. Troubleshooting no-template controls, primer dimers, and inhibition is a weekly task.
Mammalian and microbial cell culture
Passaging HEK, HeLa, primary cells; freeze-down and thaw; mycoplasma testing; transfection (Lipofectamine, PEI, electroporation). Sterile technique failures cost weeks β€” this is where junior techs get screened out.
Microscopy and imaging
Widefield, confocal (Zeiss, Leica, Nikon), and fluorescent microscopy. Sample prep, immunostaining, and image analysis in Fiji/ImageJ. Increasingly automated with CellProfiler and QuPath.
Data analysis and scientific computing
GraphPad Prism for stats and figures, Python or R for larger datasets, Excel discipline for lab records. NGS techs need familiarity with FastQC, BWA, samtools, and DESeq2.
Electronic lab notebook and GLP documentation
Benchling, LabArchives, or eLabJournal. Contemporaneous entries, signed and dated, with reagent lot numbers. GLP or GMP-adjacent work requires audit-ready records.
Biosafety and lab safety compliance
BSL-1 and BSL-2 work at minimum; institutional IBC protocols; OSHA bloodborne pathogens; chemical hygiene plan; radiation safety if the lab uses isotopes.

How to Become a Biological Technicians

  1. 1
    Earn a BS in biology, biochemistry, microbiology, or molecular biology
    GPA 3.0+ helps at competitive biotechs; two semesters of undergraduate research or a summer REU is the single biggest hiring signal.
  2. 2
    Land a first bench role: RA I, lab tech, or research assistant
    $38-52k at biotech and academic labs. Boston, Cambridge, SF Bay, and San Diego cluster most openings. New-grad hiring is heaviest Sept-Feb.
  3. 3
    Build a specialty in year 1-2: cell culture, PCR/molecular, flow cytometry, NGS, or microscopy
    $0-1,500 for vendor training and short courses. Cross-training on 2-3 techniques opens more roles than depth in one.
  4. 4
    Advance to RA II/III with specialty depth
    $68-95k. Pharma and Series B+ biotech tend to promote faster than academic labs; academic RAs sometimes stay flat until they pursue graduate school.
  5. 5
    Move to Lead/RA IV or transition to Scientist track with MS/PhD
    $85-125k+ as senior RA/Lead; scientist track requires MS ($95-135k) or PhD ($115-175k+). GLP toxicology, NGS operations, and process development are the highest-paying specialty tracks.

Career Progression

Research Associate I / Entry Bench Tech
0-2 yrs$38-52k
  • β€’Bench work under senior direction: PCR, cell culture, ELISA, Western
  • β€’Sample prep, aliquoting, reagent inventory, media prep
  • β€’Maintain ELN with contemporaneous entries
  • β€’Learn 2-3 core techniques to independence
Next: RA II at 1-3 years once running experiments independently.
Research Associate II / Established Tech
2-6 yrs$52-68k
  • β€’Run assays independently and troubleshoot without hand-holding
  • β€’Contribute to assay development and optimization
  • β€’Train and mentor RA I hires and interns
  • β€’Author methods sections of internal reports; occasional co-authorship
Next: RA III at 4-8 years or lateral to Scientist track with MS.
Senior RA / RA III / Specialist
5-10 yrs$68-85k
  • β€’Own a technique or platform (flow, NGS, imaging, GLP tox)
  • β€’Design experiments and write SOPs
  • β€’Lead a small bench team (2-4 techs)
  • β€’Present data to PIs and cross-functional stakeholders
Next: Lead/RA IV at 8-15 years or Scientist with graduate degree.
Lead RA / RA IV / Supervisor
10+ yrs$85-115k+
  • β€’Supervise 4-12 techs across projects
  • β€’Own supplies budget ($300k-$1.5M) and vendor relationships
  • β€’Write and revise SOPs; own audit readiness (GLP/GMP)
  • β€’Interface with QA, IT, facilities, and PIs
Next: Manager (with experience) or Scientist II/III (with PhD).

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a PCR that failed β€” no bands in any lane.technical
Start by checking the positive control. If the positive is also blank, the issue is upstream: reagent (polymerase, dNTPs, buffer), thermocycler program, or the master mix itself. If the positive worked and samples didn't, the issue is template β€” quality, quantity, or inhibitors. I re-run with a 1:10 dilution of template to rule out inhibitor carryover from a phenol prep, and check template on a Nanodrop and gel. Document the troubleshooting in the ELN so the next time someone hits the same failure they have a reference.
Q2. How do you handle a failed experiment right before a lab meeting?situational
Present it anyway. Show the data, name the likely failure modes, and outline what I'd do differently. Trying to hide a failed experiment or spin it never survives contact with a PI who knows the technique. My grad-student PI told me 'a failed experiment you understand is worth more than a successful one you don't.' I'd rather show up with an honest post-mortem than fake progress.
Q3. Describe your biggest lab win.behavioral
STAR. Situation: our qPCR primary screen had a 22% false-positive rate that was driving downstream validation waste. Task: reduce false positives without dropping true positives. Action: I ran a designed experiment on primer concentration, annealing temperature, and template dilution across 96 wells, identified a 62Β°C anneal + 1:20 template dilution as the sweet spot, and rewrote the SOP. Result: false-positive rate dropped to 4% and we cut Sanger confirmations by 80%, saving roughly $18k/quarter in reagent and tech time.
Q4. Why bench science?culture
The feedback loop. When an assay works, you know it that day β€” you don't wait a year for a paper. I like the physical discipline of pipetting and sterile technique, and I like being the person the PI relies on for reproducible data. I know it's a supporting role in the credit structure, and I'm comfortable with that trade for the pace and the hands-on work.
Q5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?closer
Senior RA or Lead with a specialty in flow cytometry or NGS operations. I'm doing an MS part-time so I have the option to transition to Scientist I in year 6-7, but I'm not in a rush β€” I'd rather build technique depth first. Long term I'd consider a scientist track at a biotech with clear autonomy, or a core-facility manager role at a university.

Resume Template β€” RA I / Entry Bench Tech (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

RA I / Entry Bench Tech (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈRan 350+ PCR and qPCR reactions FY24 with 98% technical success rate across primary screen and validation.
  • β–ΈMaintained 8 mammalian cell lines (HEK293, HeLa, U2OS, CHO) with zero mycoplasma or contamination events over 14 months.
  • β–ΈCross-trained on flow cytometry (BD FACSCanto II), Western blot, and confocal microscopy (Zeiss LSM 880).
  • β–ΈBS Biology, [university], 3.6 GPA. BSL-2 and Bloodborne Pathogens certified. Benchling and GraphPad Prism proficient.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Sloppy pipetting technique β€” CVs above 5% on triplicate wells signal a training gap.
  • βœ—Poor sterile technique in the biosafety cabinet β€” mycoplasma or bacterial contamination in the tissue culture room is a career-limiting event.
  • βœ—Weak ELN discipline β€” post-hoc reconstruction of results, missing lot numbers, or scratch-paper protocols get you screened out at any regulated lab.
  • βœ—Freezes on failed experiments instead of running a post-mortem β€” labs need techs who can debug, not just execute.
  • βœ—Overpromises on timelines β€” bench work has a physical floor (doubling time, incubation, spin time) that you can't will faster.
  • βœ—No specialty investment β€” techs who don't build depth in flow, NGS, imaging, or GLP tox stall in the RA II band.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Metro premium: Boston/Cambridge, SF Bay, San Diego pay 20-40% above the national median.
  • βœ“Big-pharma (Genentech, Vertex, Regeneron, Moderna) pays 15-30% above academic labs at the same level.
  • βœ“Specialty premiums: NGS operations, flow cytometry, GLP toxicology, and process development each add $8-18k.
  • βœ“GLP/GMP experience β€” required for tox and CMC work; adds $5-12k at CROs and pharma.
  • βœ“Sign-on bonuses $2-8k at biotech RA II+; $10-20k at pharma senior RA and above.
  • βœ“Equity: Series A-C biotechs offer meaningful option grants; public pharma offers RSUs. Negotiate the refresher cadence, not just initial grant.

Biological Technicians Resume Review β€” $29

Personalized resume review from someone who has hired biological technicianss. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.

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  • βœ“ Missing skills / keywords flagged
  • βœ“ Formatting + ATS-readability feedback
  • βœ“ 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it

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  • βœ“ All 13 interview questions with expert answers
  • βœ“ 6 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
  • βœ“ Interview format intel for 6 top employers
  • βœ“ 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
  • βœ“ Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
  • βœ“ Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
  • βœ“ Downloadable PDF for offline access
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Biological Technicians Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$41K
$71Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

California
$71K
+24%
New Jersey
$66K
+15%
District of Columbia
$65K
+13%
Connecticut
$62K
+8%
Massachusetts
$62K
+8%
North Carolina
$62K
+7%
New York
$61K
+6%
Washington
$61K
+6%
Maine
$60K
+5%
Colorado
$59K
+3%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
California$71,440+24.2%
New Jersey$66,040+14.8%
District of Columbia$64,770+12.6%
Connecticut$62,360+8.4%
Massachusetts$62,070+7.9%
North Carolina$61,720+7.3%
New York$61,210+6.4%
Washington$60,800+5.7%
Maine$60,160+4.6%
Colorado$59,400+3.3%
1–10 of 51

Biological Technicians Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$95,220+65.6%
Trenton-Princeton, NJ$77,170+34.2%
Tyler, TX$77,020+33.9%
Boulder, CO$75,390+31.1%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$72,940+26.8%
Peoria, IL$72,120+25.4%
Worcester, MA$69,730+21.2%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$67,060+16.6%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$66,610+15.8%
Charlottesville, VA$66,590+15.8%
1–10 of 170
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A biological technicians earning $57,510/year would need 1036 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1113 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how biological technicians salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Biological Technicians salary trend (2011–2024) β†’