Chemical Technicians
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They Do: Chemical technicians use special instruments and techniques to assist chemists and chemical engineers.
Work Environment: Technicians typically work in laboratories, where they conduct experiments, or in manufacturing facilities, such as chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, where they monitor production processes. Most technicians work full time.
How to Become One: Chemical technicians need an associate’s degree or 2 years of postsecondary education for most jobs. Most chemical technicians receive on-the-job training.
Salary: The median annual wage for chemical technicians is $48,990.
Job Outlook: Employment of chemical technicians is projected to grow 4 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of chemical technicians with similar occupations.
Following is everything you need to know about a career as a chemical technician with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
Top 3 Chemical Technician Jobs
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Chemical and Biological Technicians
- United States Army
- Escalon, CA
Occupational Safety, Chemical and Biological Technicians
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Manufacturing Technician
- eTeam
- Santa Rosa, CA
The Fab Manufacturing Technician is responsible for the operation of equipment and chemical tanks ... Wet ( Chemical ) Etching involves very stringent timing expectations in a chemical bath, which are ...
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Quality Control Technician ( El Segundo, CA ) 13713
- TalentPro Consulting
- El Segundo, CA
... chemical or physical property. Performs a variety of qualitative tests or qualitative assays on samples, and to aid in maintenance and certification of test instruments and apparatus to ensure ...
What Chemical Technicians Do[About this section] [To Top]
Chemical technicians use laboratory instruments and techniques to help chemists and chemical engineers research, develop, produce, and test chemical products and processes.
Duties of Chemical Technicians
Chemical technicians typically do the following:
- Monitor chemical processes and test the quality of products to make sure that they meet standards and specifications
- Set up and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment
- Troubleshoot production problems or malfunctioning instruments
- Prepare chemical solutions
- Conduct, compile, and interpret results of chemical and physical experiments, tests, and analyses for a variety of purposes, including research and development
- Prepare technical reports, graphs, and charts, and give presentations that summarize their results
Most chemical technicians work on teams. Typically, they are led by chemists or chemical engineers who direct their work and evaluate their results. However, they may serve as mentors to chemists who are new to a lab or to a specialized area of research.
Technicians who work in laboratories may help conduct experiments that contribute to research and development. For example, some chemical technicians help chemists and other scientists develop new medicines. In this way, chemical technicians often bridge the gap in knowledge remaining when a chemist moves on to a new assignment.
Other chemical technicians work in manufacturing and assist in developing more efficient production processes.
Work Environment for Chemical Technicians[About this section] [To Top]
Chemical technicians hold about 60,400 jobs. The largest employers of chemical technicians are as follows:
| Testing laboratories | 16% |
| Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing | 10% |
| Wholesale trade | 4% |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private | 3% |
Chemical technicians typically work in laboratories or in industrial facilities such as chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants.
Injuries and Illnesses for Chemical Technicians
Chemical technicians can be exposed to health or safety hazards when handling certain chemicals and plant equipment, but there is little risk if proper procedures are followed.
Chemical Technician Work Schedules
Most technicians work full time. Occasionally, they may have to work additional hours to meet project deadlines or troubleshoot problems with manufacturing processes. Some may work irregular hours to monitor laboratory experiments or plant operations.
How to Become a Chemical Technician[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for Chemical Technicians near you!
Chemical technicians need an associate's degree or 2 years of postsecondary education for most jobs. Most chemical technicians also receive on-the-job training.
Education for Chemical Technicians
For most jobs, chemical technicians need an associate's degree in applied science or chemical technology or 2 years of postsecondary education.
Many technical and community colleges offer programs in applied sciences or chemical technology. Students typically take classes in math, physics, and biology, in addition to chemistry courses. Coursework in statistics and computer science is also useful because technicians routinely do data analysis and modeling.
One of the most important aspects of any degree program is laboratory time because it provides students with hands-on practice in conducting experiments and using various instruments and techniques properly. Many schools also offer internships and cooperative-education programs that help students gain employment experience while attending school.
Important Qualities for Chemical Technicians
Ability to use technology. Chemical technicians must set up, operate, troubleshoot, and repair sophisticated equipment and instruments. They also may need to adjust the equipment to ensure that experiments and processes are running properly and safely.
Analytical skills. Chemical technicians must conduct scientific experiments with accuracy and precision.
Communication skills. Chemical technicians must explain their work to scientists and engineers, and to workers who may not have a technical background. They often write reports to communicate their results.
Critical-thinking skills. Chemical technicians reach their conclusions through sound reasoning and judgment.
Interpersonal skills. Chemical technicians must work well with others as part of a team because they often work with scientists, engineers, and other technicians.
Observation skills. Chemical technicians must carefully monitor chemical experiments and processes to note any unusual or unexpected results observed during an experiment. They must keep complete records of their work, including conditions and procedures.
Time-management skills. Chemical technicians often work on multiple tasks and projects at the same time and must prioritize their assignments.
Chemical Technician Training
Most chemical technicians receive on-the-job training. Typically, experienced technicians teach new employees proper methods and procedures for conducting experiments and operating equipment. The length of training varies with the new employee's level of experience and education, and the industry the worker is employed in.
Advancement for Chemical Technicians
Technicians who have a bachelor's degree may advance to positions as chemical engineers or chemists.
Chemical Technician Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median annual wage for chemical technicians is $48,990. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,980, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $80,570.
The median annual wages for chemical technicians in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private | $49,050 |
| Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing | $48,670 |
| Wholesale trade | $47,860 |
| Testing laboratories | $39,410 |
Most technicians work full time. Occasionally, they may have to work additional hours to meet project deadlines or troubleshoot problems with manufacturing processes. Some may work irregular hours to monitor laboratory experiments or plant operations.
Job Outlook for Chemical Technicians[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of chemical technicians is projected to grow 4 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 7,800 openings for chemical technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment of Chemical Technicians
Chemical technicians will continue to be in demand to test new materials and products developed by chemists and chemical engineers. They also will be needed to monitor the quality of chemical products and processes. In addition, increased demand for these technicians is expected due to greater interest in environmental issues such as pollution control, clean energy, and sustainability.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Chemical technicians | 60,400 | 63,100 | 4 | 2,700 |
More Chemical Technician Information[About this section] [To Top]
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A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.