How to become a life science technician
Official title: Life science technicians (excluding medical)
Also called: Bacteriology technician, Biochemistry technician, Herbarium technician, Pharmacology technician, Serology technician, Tissue culture technician, Zoology technician
Life science technicians (excluding medical) provide technical support to life science professionals undertaking research, analysis and testing of living organisms, and development and application of products and processes resulting from research in areas such as natural resource management, environmental protection, plant and animal biology, microbiology, and cell and molecular biology.
Main tasks
- Assisting in designing, setting up and conducting experiments
- Setting up, calibrating, operating and maintaining laboratory instruments and equipment
- Collecting and preparing specimens and samples, chemical solutions and slides and growing cultures for use in experiments
- Performing routine field and laboratory tests
- Monitoring experiments to ensure adherence to correct laboratory quality control procedures and health and safety guidelines
- Making observations of tests and analysing, calculating, recording and reporting test results using appropriate scientific methods
- Preserving, classifying and cataloguing specimens and samples
- Keeping detailed logs of worked performed
- Using computers to develop models and analyse data
- Using complex and high-powered equipment to perform work
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$27,000 a month
- About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a life science technician?
Not always. 41% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a life science technician?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026