Career
Chemical technicians
Run the tests and experiments chemists depend on.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials.
- Maintain, clean, or sterilize laboratory instruments or equipment.
- Monitor product quality to ensure compliance with standards and specifications.
- Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.
- Prepare chemical solutions for products or processes, following standardized formulas, or create experimental formulas.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $60,390 a year and 7,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- ChemistrySee the degree →
- Chemistry, GeneralCIP 40.0501
- Analytical ChemistryCIP 40.0502
- Inorganic ChemistryCIP 40.0503
- Organic ChemistryCIP 40.0504
- Environmental ChemistryCIP 40.0509
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Chemists$91,240 · +6.4%
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians$67,820 · +4.8%
- Chemical Engineers$125,040 · +4.7%
- Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians
- Chemical Plant and System Operators$78,120 · -5.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.