Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IRC

Chemical Technicians

Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and related sciences.

Also called: Chemical Technician, Laboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Quality Control Technician (QC Tech), Analytical Laboratory Technician (Analytical Lab Technician), Chemical Analyst, Laboratory Tester (Lab Tester), Organic Preparation Analyst (Organic Prep Analyst).

O*NET 19-4031.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $60,390; Middle half earn $48,530 to $75,900. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 44% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +4% · As fast as average; 57,000 jobs in 2024, projected 59,000. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Chemical technicians".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Compile and interpret results of tests and analyses.
Provide and maintain a safe work environment by participating in safety programs, committees, or teams and by conducting laboratory or plant safety audits.
Provide technical support or assistance to chemists or engineers.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Science4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Writing3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Chemistry3.8 / 5
English Language3.5 / 5
Mathematics3.4 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.1 / 5
Production and Processing3.0 / 5
Administrative2.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic74
Investigative80
Artistic9
Social11
Enterprising2
Conventional71

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

chemist · DE Chemiker/Chemikerin · FR chimiste
analytical chemist · DE Analytischer Chemiker/Analytische Chemikerin · FR chimiste analytique
chemical application specialist · DE Applikationsspezialist Chemie/Applikationsspezialistin Chemie · FR spécialiste d’application produits chimiques
chemical tester · DE Stoffprüfer Chemie/Stoffprüferin Chemie · FR agent de laboratoire en métallurgie/agente de laboratoire en métallurgie
chemical engineer · DE Chemieingenieur/Chemieingenieurin · FR ingénieur chimiste/ingénieure chimiste
assayer · DE Edelmetallprüfer/Edelmetallprüferin · FR essayeur/essayeuse

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Chemical scientists (2111)25,100 employed
Quality assurance technicians (3115)36,100 employed
Science, engineering and production technicians n.e.c. (3119)38,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.06. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-4031).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test