How To Become A Pharmaceutical Laboratory Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pharmaceutical laboratory technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Benjamin Ford

The average pharmaceutical laboratory technician salary is $41,945. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an biology major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become a pharmaceutical laboratory technician. Pharmaceutical laboratory technicians with a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 7,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Pharmaceutical Laboratory Technician?

Benjamin Ford

Professor and Chair, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Students graduating this year have come through a life-changing year. I'd encourage them to embrace that change. Rather than putting this year behind them and moving on, I'd like graduates to reflect on what worked and didn't work in the past year, and use that reflection to improve themselves and the world. This could be as simple as continuing to hone the time management skills we were all forced to develop, or as large as working to dismantle one of the structural inequalities that became glaringly apparent as nations struggled with health and economy.

ScorePharmaceutical Laboratory TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $41,945

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 12.22%

Black or African American 11.13%

Hispanic or Latino 17.79%

Unknown 5.15%

White 52.91%

Gender

female 56.92%

male 43.08%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.7

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pharmaceutical laboratory technician

Explore pharmaceutical laboratory technician education requirements

Most common pharmaceutical laboratory technician degrees

Bachelor's

70.5 %

Associate

15.9 %

High School Diploma

9.1 %

Start to develop specific pharmaceutical laboratory technician skills

Skills	Percentages
R	15.88%
Environmental Monitoring	12.19%
Lab Equipment	9.52%
Sops	9.32%
Laboratory Procedures	7.57%

Complete relevant pharmaceutical laboratory technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pharmaceutical laboratory technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pharmaceutical laboratory technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pharmaceutical laboratory technician resumes.

Research pharmaceutical laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Perform QC testing on tablet coating products and assist in development of new products to meet customer's needs.
Develop QC test methods and specifications for new products and coordinate the implementation of new test methods for existing products.
Maintain and operate laboratory equipment and commendably troubleshoot and resolve an assortment of laboratory testing analyzers and perform diverse chemical tests.

Prepare your pharmaceutical laboratory technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pharmaceutical laboratory technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pharmaceutical laboratory technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Pharmaceutical Laboratory Technician Resume templates

Build a professional Pharmaceutical Laboratory Technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Pharmaceutical Laboratory Technician resume.

Apply for pharmaceutical laboratory technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a pharmaceutical laboratory technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams