Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code RIC
Histology Technicians
Prepare histological slides from tissue sections for microscopic examination and diagnosis by pathologists. May assist with research studies.
Also called: Histologic Technician (HT), Histologist, Histology Technician (HT), Histotechnician, Clinical Histology Technician (Clinical Histology Tech), Histology Consultant, Histology Coordinator.
O*NET 29-2012.01
At a glance
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
- 48% 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.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Cut sections of body tissues for microscopic examination, using microtomes.
- Embed tissue specimens into paraffin wax blocks, or infiltrate tissue specimens with wax.
- Mount tissue specimens on glass slides.
- Stain tissue specimens with dyes or other chemicals to make cell details visible under microscopes.
- Freeze tissue specimens.
- Operate computerized laboratory equipment to dehydrate, decalcify, or microincinerate tissue samples.
- Archive diagnostic material, such as histologic slides and blocks.
- Maintain laboratory equipment, such as microscopes, mass spectrometers, microtomes, immunostainers, tissue processors, embedding centers, and water baths.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.5 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.4 / 5
- Monitoring3.3 / 5
- Speaking3.1 / 5
- Science3.1 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Chemistry3.8 / 5
- Biology3.8 / 5
- English Language3.3 / 5
- Administrative3.0 / 5
- Administration and Management2.8 / 5
- Education and Training2.7 / 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.
- Realistic88
- Investigative73
- Artistic4
- Social19
- Enterprising0
- Conventional67
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)
- scientific laboratory technician · DE Labortechniker Biowissenschaften/Labortechnikerin Biowissenschaften · FR technicien de laboratoire scientifique/technicienne de laboratoire scientifique
- biology technician · DE Biologietechniker/Biologietechnikerin · FR technicien biologiste/technicienne biologiste
- cytology screener · DE Zytologieassistent/Zytologieassistentin · FR technicien en dépistage cytologique/technicienne en dépistage cytologique
- medical laboratory assistant · DE Medizinisch-technischer Laborassistent/Medizinisch-technische Laborassistentin · FR aide-laborantin d’analyses médicales/aide-laborantine d’analyses médicales
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.
| 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 -0.13. 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 (29-2012).
Related careers
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