Laboratory technician

A laboratory technician is a person who works in a laboratory performing analytical or experimental procedures, maintaining laboratory equipment and assisting scientists with their work.

An Iranian laboratory technician at work

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of the term laboratory technician was in 1896[1]:

It [sc. a therapeutic property] is now totally abandoned by the advanced laboratory technicians.

The term is now widely accepted. Laboratory technicians are found in a wide range of scientific fields, including forensic science, pathology, chemistry, biomedical science and physics. More junior employees may be known as laboratory assistants, with more senior staff referred to as laboratory technical officers. Laboratory technicians may hold a range of formal academic qualifications, such as associate degrees, often obtained through vocational education.