Biological Technicians
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.
69,620 people do this job in the US. $57,510 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 9%
- 0%
- 91%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 7%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct research, or assist in the conduct of research, including the collection of information and samples, such as blood, water, soil, plants and animals.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 19% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Use computers, computer-interfaced equipment, robotics or high-technology industrial applications to perform work duties.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Participate in the research, development, or manufacturing of medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Conduct standardized biological, microbiological or biochemical tests and laboratory analyses to evaluate the quantity or quality of physical or chemical substances in food or other products.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Conduct or supervise operational programs, such as fish hatcheries, greenhouses and livestock production programs.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Monitor and observe experiments, recording production and test data for evaluation by research personnel.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor laboratory work to ensure compliance with set standards.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up, adjust, calibrate, clean, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory and field equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Provide technical support and services for scientists and engineers working in fields such as agriculture, environmental science, resource management, biology, and health sciences.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine animals and specimens to detect the presence of disease or other problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean, maintain and prepare supplies and work areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).