What does a laboratory technician or technologist (lab tech) do?
A lab tech is a person who performs the practical hands-on work in laboratories. Lab techs work in diverse settings which include health care, industry, research, and educational institutions. Lab techs may work in a wide variety of fields such as medicine, biology, chemistry, electronics, geology and the environment. In this document, it is assumed that a lab tech works predominately indoors in a traditional laboratory setting. The main duties of a lab tech normally include: • Receiving, processing and analyzing samples. Depending on the work wetting, the samples may consist of blood and tissue (health care); air, water and soil (environment and public health); chemical products (chemical and pharmaceutical industry), etc. • Conducting tests on new products or experimental processes. • Using, cleaning and maintaining various types of equipment. • Handling and storing chemicals and other materials. • Administrative tasks such as maintaining notebooks, documenting procedures, and prepar
