Job Summary
A laboratory technician supports scientists and clinicians by running tests, maintaining equipment, and making sure data is accurate and reproducible.
You're the person who turns a sample into a result the lab can actually use.
Main Duties
Sample handling: Collect, label, prepare, and store samples. Check for contamination or improper handling before analysis starts.
Run tests & assays: Operate instruments like centrifuges, autoclaves, microscopes, spectrophotometers, HPLC, PCR machines, and automated analyzers. Follow SOPs exactly.
Record & analyze data: Log results in LIMS or lab notebooks, perform basic calculations, flag outliers, and prepare reports for supervisors.
Equipment upkeep: Calibrate, clean, and do routine maintenance. Report faults and assist with repairs.
Inventory & ordering: Track reagents, consumables, and chemicals. Check expiry dates and avoid stockouts.
Safety & compliance: Enforce PPE use, handle hazardous materials and waste per regulations, maintain biosafety and chemical safety standards.
Quality control: Run QC samples, participate in internal audits, help maintain ISO 17025/15189 or GLP/GMP standards depending on the lab.
Typical Requirements
Education: ND, HND, BSc in Medical Lab Science, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Microbiology, or related fields. For clinical labs in Nigeria, registration with MDCAN is usually required.
Experience: 0-2 years for entry level, often with IT/internship experience. Senior roles want 3-5 years +
Key Skills & Attributes:
Technical precision: Small errors compound. You need steady hands and consistent technique.
Methodical & organized Juggling multiple samples without mixing them up is daily work.
Problem solving: When a machine reads weird or a control fails, you troubleshoot first before escalating.
Documentation discipline: If it isn't written down, it didn't happen. Auditors will check.
Computer literacy: Excel, LIMS, basic stats. Most modern labs are digital.
Work Conditions:
Lab environment with exposure to chemicals, biological samples, and noise from equipment.
Standing for long periods, repetitive pipetting, strict time constraints.
Shift work and weekends are common in hospital labs. Research/industry labs are usually 9-5 but can have tight deadlines.
Career Progression:
Laboratory Technician → Senior Technician → Lab Supervisor → Lab Manager / Quality Manager. Some move into research roles, field application specialist roles for equipment vendors, or go back for MSc/MLS to become a scientist.
The job is heavy on procedure and light on theory day to day, but good techs are what keep a lab credible.