Gloved hand pulling a pipette out of a glass bottle

Carrying out research in the lab to help diagnose and treat diseases

How this role makes a difference

Finding ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat different diseases is a vital area of research work. Carrying out tests to diagnose diseases as quickly as possible is also essential, to ensure doctors and patients have the information they need to make decisions.

This wide range of exciting and challenging work is carried out in laboratories. They need to be properly supplied and managed with the right chemicals and equipment, and researchers and clinicians need support with their projects and experiments. You could be the technician who carries out research processes and helps important scientific discoveries and diagnoses to be made.

The kind of work you’ll do

Carrying out repeat experiments
Data capture and record keeping
Checking findings against standards, highlighting any differences
Evaluating data
Formulating and reporting evidence
Collaborating with the lab team and other scientific research colleagues
Helping researchers plan and carry out their scientific work

Useful skills

Attention to detail

Skills & attributes

Useful skills

Problem solving

Skills & attributes

What you can bring to the role

An interest in health and wellbeing and how medical discoveries are made.

An understanding of basic laboratory techniques.

Some knowledge of chemistry, physics or life sciences.

An ability to focus and capture detailed information accurately.

Confidence working with numbers and mathematical concepts.

An ability to identify complex problems and arrive at possible solutions.

The capacity to adapt what you’re doing when situations change.

This role could also be right for you if you have any of the following interests:

- science

- exploring problems and finding answers

- animals and nature

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Average salary per year *

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Average salary per month *

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*according to ONS

Future career opportunities

Your technician role will give you skills that are transferrable to many kinds of laboratories, so you could decide to work in several different sectors or in specific areas of the health and life sciences.

Over time, you will have the experience to manage a team and could become a lab manager.

How to get into this role

There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.

But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:

A T-level in Science after you finish your GCSEs
An apprenticeship as a Laboratory Technician after finishing school or college

Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.

A little more about the role

Exciting features...

As well as being involved in the development of new medicines, you could also support existing patients as they go through a treatment programme. The test results you provide will show how well a patient is responding to treatment and whether any changes are necessary to help them get well. You won’t ever know the patients you’re supporting, but it could be people all over the world.

Other job titles...

This role can also be known by some other job titles including:

Analytical Support Chemist
Technical Support Scientist
Microbiology Support Scientist
Process Development Technologist
Laboratory Assistant
Senior Laboratory Technician
Assistant Scientist
Technical Specialist (Scientist)
Quality Control Laboratory Assistant
Laboratory Co-ordinator
Technical Laboratory Assistant
Laboratory Analyst
Laboratory Research Assistant