Bioinformatics Technicians

Career Overview

Apply principles and methods of bioinformatics to assist scientists in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics. Apply bioinformatics tools to visualize, analyze, manipulate or interpret molecular data. May build and maintain databases for processing and analyzing genomic or other biological information.

Also Known As

• Bioinformatics Analyst
• Bioinformatics Specialist
• Biotechnician
• Scientific Informatics Analyst

Alternate Job Titles

• Bioinformatics Analyst
• Bioinformatics Research Technician
• Bioinformatics Specialist
• Bioinformatics Technician
• Biometrics Technician
• Biotechnician
• Data Analyst
• Data Technician
• Database Technician
• Field Data Technician
• Log Data Technician
• Museum Informatics Specialist
• Research Scientist
• Scientific Informatics Analyst
• Submission Technician

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

• Analyze or manipulate bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
• Extend existing software programs, web-based interactive tools, or database queries as sequence management and analysis needs evolve.
• Maintain awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
• Conduct quality analyses of data inputs and resulting analyses or predictions.
• Enter or retrieve information from structural databases, protein sequence motif databases, mutation databases, genomic databases or gene expression databases.
• Develop or maintain applications that process biologically based data into searchable databases for purposes of analysis, calculation, or presentation.
• Confer with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.

Knowledge You'll Use

You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:

• Computers and Electronics
• Mathematics
• English Language
• Biology

Essential Skills

Success in this career requires strong skills in:

1. Reading Comprehension

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Written Comprehension
• Oral Comprehension
• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Written Expression
• Information Ordering
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Oral Expression
• Selective Attention
• Flexibility of Closure

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Attention to Detail
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Dependability
• Adaptability
• Innovation

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Working Conditions
• Support
• Independence
• Achievement
• Recognition

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience Needed: Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years

On-the-Job Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Education Details: Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Experience Required: A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Apache Subversion SVN
• C
• C++
• Git
• Hypertext markup language HTML
• IBM SPSS Statistics
• Jenkins CI
• Linux
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel

Tools & Equipment

• Computer clusters
• Computer workstation setups
• Desktop computers
• High throughput screening HTS systems
• Network file servers
• Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR spectrometers
• Semiconductor-based sequencers
• Web servers

Work Environment

• E-Mail
• Spend Time Sitting
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate

Salary & Job Market

Wages reported for the broader Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other occupational group (BLS 2024), which includes Bioinformatics Technicians.

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$40,330
Median	$71,490
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$154,140

Workers Employed Nationally: 4,660

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.