Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code IRC

Cytotechnologists

Stain, mount, and study cells to detect evidence of cancer, hormonal abnormalities, and other pathological conditions following established standards and practices.

Also called: Cytologist, Cytology Applications Specialist, Cytology Coordinator, Cytotechnologist, Cytology Technical Specialist.

O*NET 29-2011.02

At a glance

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 50% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

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

Examine cell samples to detect abnormalities in the color, shape, or size of cellular components and patterns.
Document specimens by verifying patients' and specimens' information.
Submit slides with abnormal cell structures to pathologists for further examination.
Prepare and analyze samples, such as Papanicolaou (PAP) smear body fluids and fine needle aspirations (FNAs), to detect abnormal conditions.
Examine specimens, using microscopes, to evaluate specimen quality.
Maintain effective laboratory operations by adhering to standards of specimen collection, preparation, or laboratory safety.
Provide patient clinical data or microscopic findings to assist pathologists in the preparation of pathology reports.
Assist pathologists or other physicians to collect cell samples by fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy or other method.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Active Listening3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Speaking3.1 / 5
Writing3.0 / 5
Active Learning3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Biology4.2 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry3.9 / 5
English Language3.2 / 5
Administrative3.0 / 5
Chemistry2.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.6 / 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.

Realistic82
Investigative84
Artistic2
Social24
Enterprising14
Conventional65

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)

bacteriology technician · DE Bakteriologietechniker/Bakteriologietechnikerin · FR technicien bactériologiste/technicienne bactériologiste
biomedical scientist · DE Biomedizintechniker/Biomedizintechnikerin · FR technicien de biologie médicale/technicienne de biologie médicale
cytology screener · DE Zytologieassistent/Zytologieassistentin · FR technicien en dépistage cytologique/technicienne en dépistage cytologique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Laboratory technicians (3111)51,100 employed
Biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113)68,000 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 “Technicians and associate 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, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

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 +0.28. 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 (29-2011).

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