biological technician Career Path | See the Career Paths People Really Take

laboratory technician

research technician

phd candidate

real estate agent

general contractor

research assistant

zoologist

projects manager

conservation scientist

helper

business development

A Biological Technician assists biological and medical scientists in laboratories with the set up, operation, repair and maintainence of laboratory instruments and equipment.  Their role is to monitor experiments, make observations, calculate and record results in order to analyze organic substances, such as blood, food and drugs.  Their responsibilities are to conduct research, collect information and samples, adjust, calibrate, clean, maintain and troubleshoot laboratory and field equipment, provide technical support and services, clean, maintain and prepare supplies and work areas, participate in the research, development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical preparations, analyze experimental data and interpret results, measure compounds and solutions, monitor and observe experiments, examine animals and specimens to detect the presence of disease, supervise operational programs, keep detailed logs of all work-related activities, and isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination.

biological technician

The Business Development position manages the existing sales pipeline, develops new business opportunities, and identifies trends and customer needs.  Their role is building a sales pipeline that achieves targets, developing business strategies, and assisting in the coordination and implementation of marketing plans.  Their responsibilities are to delegate tasks that achieve strategic goals, manage the proposal response process, generate new leads, help pitch logistics, develop and implement overarching outbound sales strategies, support deal structure and pricing, negotiate prices and proposals, and maintain and share professional knowledge.

Discover what it’s like to work in business development at a leading tech company. Luna shares insights on sales roles, daily challenges, and the rewarding aspects of collaboration and continuous learning.

<h2>Who This Role is Good For</h2><p>My name is Luna, and I currently work in business development at a large tech company here in San Francisco. I really enjoy my job.</p><p><br></p><p>There are a lot of different companies in tech and various spaces looking to build out their sales development and business development roles. It's a great role, I think, for those just out of college or a year or two into their career.</p><p><br></p><h2>Skills for the Role</h2><p>If you're interested in sales development, you should enjoy talking to customers. A large part of my job involves being on the phone and making cold calls. I make around 50 calls a day, mostly to strangers.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Business Development Pros</h2><p>There are some huge pros to working in such a cool, large organization. We get to collaborate, share what's working, and exchange ideas. I feel like I'm constantly learning in this role, which is one of the things I love most about it. Whether it's learning about new products or improving my outreach strategies, it's been incredibly fulfilling.</p><p><br></p>

The Conservation Scientist manages the whole land quality of the forest and other natural resources.  Their role is to create a plan for forest lands and resources as well as make sure the land is fit for future use. Their responsibilities are to instruct agriculturalists and other agriculture managers to recover lands for agriculture purposes, protect the country’s natural resources, calculate the environment to include forest study and soil quality, and regulate terms and conditions for land use and forest harvesting.

A General Contractor is a professional who is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all aspects of construction projects, from planning and budgeting to hiring subcontractors and ensuring the work meets quality standards. They are also involved in building code compliance, obtaining permits, scheduling inspections, and making sure the project stays on schedule. In addition to managing the project itself, they may be responsible for providing estimates or bids on new projects, negotiating contracts with architects or other professionals as needed, supervising workers during construction activities, maintaining safety protocols onsite at all times and resolving disputes between subcontractors or clients.

Discover a unique pathway in the construction management industry. From career progression and daily responsibilities to challenges and rewards, learn how this executive role balances financial management and leadership.

<h2>My Career Path in Construction Management</h2><p>My current job title is Vice President of Finance, and I work for a construction company.</p><p>The way I got into this role is by earning a degree in construction management. Most people with that degree start as project engineers. From there, they might move up to senior project engineers, assistant project managers, project managers, and eventually senior project managers or executives. However, very few transition into a role like Vice President of Finance.</p><p>For me, the opportunity came while I was a senior project manager. The company I worked for had an opening for a CFO, and after 12 years in project management, I became curious about what a CFO does. I raised my hand and expressed interest, asking to be taught the role. From there, I stepped into the position and eventually became Vice President of Finance.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Current Role Responsibilities&nbsp;</h2><p>An average day or week in this position involves financial analysis of the company's projects, profitability, and relationships with owners. Beyond that, a key focus is maintaining relationships with people within the company. I spend a lot of time connecting with our teams on a personal level, which fosters trust and open communication. This helps ensure that teams feel comfortable sharing both good and bad news.</p><p>When challenges arise, I work with executive staff and project teams to get projects back on track for success. Managing the finances of each construction project is a major responsibility. Project teams send me detailed reports about financial performance and client, consultant, and design team relationships. I use this data to guide teams strategically, ensuring projects remain successful or addressing issues proactively.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Pros and Cons of Construction Management</h2><p>The role has its pros and cons. On the positive side, the financial rewards of being a construction executive are significant, providing a comfortable living. However, the stress level can be high due to the weight of responsibility. Finding work to keep employees secure is one of the biggest challenges but also one of the most rewarding aspects when you succeed.</p><p>While it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to reach this level, the journey is incredibly fulfilling, especially knowing that your efforts contribute to the success of both projects and the people involved.</p>

A Helper assists construction craft workers like carpenters and electricians with various tasks.  Their role is to bring tools and materials, and help set up equipment.  Their responsibilities are keeping work areas clean, loading and unloading materials, preparing worksites, pouring foundation, installing sheetrock, and operating equipment.

The Lab Technician supports laboratory based scientific inquiries by carrying out routine technical tasks and experiments.  Their role is to work with laboratory equipment to analyze samples or substances, conduct tests on those samples or substances, and report on their findings.  Their responsibilities are collecting, receiving, labeling and analyzing samples or substances, designing and executing laboratory testing in line with standard testing procedures, recording observations and interpreting findings, recording all laboratory data and test results correctly and in the specified format, organizing and storing all chemical substances, fluids and compressed gases according to safety instructions, ensuring that safety guidelines are adhered to within the laboratory, maintaining daily records and equipment record books, cleaning and calibrating laboratory equipment, ordering laboratory supplies, and providing technical support.

A PhD candidate is a student enrolled in a PhD program who completed their coursework and exams, and moved onto the final stage of working on or defending their thesis or dissertation.  PhD candidates must plan for, and commit significant time and effort to their dissertation.  They work under the supervision of a professor or researcher to conduct their research and write their thesis.  The process culminates with a presentation of their work to a panel of university faculty to defend their work.

A Projects Manager oversees different projects for a business by monitoring their progress and ensuring that they meet the expectations of the clients.  Their role is coordinating with cross-discipline team members, meeting with team members to identify and resolve issues, submitting project deliverables, and ensuring that the project adheres to quality measures.  Their responsibilities are preparing status reports by gathering, examining and summarizing relevant information, establishing effective project communication plans and ensuring their execution, facilitating change requests to ensure that all parties are informed of the impacts on schedule and budget, identifying and developing new opportunities with clients, obtaining customer acceptance of project deliverables, managing customer satisfaction within the project transition period, conducting post-project evaluations, and identifying successful and unsuccessful project elements.

Calling all organization lovers and friends who do all the planning. Have you considered project management? See what its like to be in project management and tips on how to get into this role.

<h2>What it's like as in Project Management</h2><p>One of my favorite pros with Project Management is you get to work with a bunch of different people. Average day or week is really busy as a project manager because you are not only planning meetings with clients, but you're also planning all the internal communication in order to make sure meetings are successful. I found a lot of my time was spent not only doing research for the clients to make sure the project was a success, but also spending a lot of time creating that communication as well as that project management plan in order to show where we are, where we would be, what risks that we have, and again making the remainder of the entire schedule in order to get to get final completion day.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><h2>Job Requirements</h2><p>The job requirements for a project manager is primarily just to be really organized and to also make sure that you are communicating really well, not only with the clients that you have, but also internally. Because really all we're doing is, I would say it's like event planning. We're making sure people are going, people are organized, and again at the end of the day we're having that fantastic wedding, but in this case it's completing the project. Things happen. Risks come up, issues come up, having a project that is 100% successful and goes according to schedule is honestly quite rare. So you have to be prepared to be aware of the unknown and know how to mitigate those risks in order to make sure that everyone's everyone, not only on the client side, but also for management, anyone else that you want to have working with the client.</p><p><br></p><h2>How to Become a Project Manager</h2><p>In order to become one is kind of just getting your foot in the door anywhere and showing that you're able to go see tasks as well as being demanded or asked from you and as long as you can show that organization and drive, that's a great way to continue to move your team up into the project manager. Having your project management professional certification isn't necessarily required for every job, but it definitely opens up a lot of doors so that you can start excelling faster.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

A Real Estate Agent helps clients purchase, rent, or sell properties. Their role is to advise clients about market conditions, conduct breakthroughs, and provide assistance through the process of buying, selling or leasing properties. Their responsibilities are to provide guidance and assist sellers and buyers in marketing and purchasing property for the right price, determine client's needs, intermediate the negotiation processes, consult clients on market conditions, prices, legal requirements and related matters, ensure a fair and honest dealing, perform a comparative market analysis to estimate a property value, display and market property to possible buyers, prepare the necessary paperwork, manage property auctions or exchanges, maintain and update listings of available property, cooperate with appraisers, home inspectors, attorneys, mortgage lenders and contractors, and maintain their real estate license and knowledge.

A research assistant assists in academic or private research and are directed by more senior researchers to provide support in furthering experiments and gathering and analyzing information. Research assistant responsibilities are to collect and log experimental data, conduct statistical analysis of data sets, prepare graphs and spreadsheets to portray results, create presentation slides and posters to help researchers present findings, review print and online resources to gather information and maintain laboratory equipment and inventory.

Curious about a career in ecology? Watch this insightful interview to learn how to get started, even without a college degree. Hear from a research assistant studying Florida scrub jays, who shares the highs and lows of the job, the importance of field experience, and tips for breaking into the field. If you love nature and science, this video is a must-watch!

<h2>How to Start in Ecology</h2><p>You don’t necessarily need a college degree to get started in ecology. While having one can help, the most important thing is gaining hands-on field experience. Entry-level jobs that offer outdoor research opportunities are a great place to begin. Once you get your foot in the door, you can work your way up within the organization—that’s often the most straightforward path.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>How I Became a Research Assistant</h2><p>I earned my degree at Eckerd College, a small school in Florida, where I first got involved in research by studying black skimmers, a type of coastal bird. That experience opened the door for a seasonal field tech job in Oregon, where I conducted population surveys and monitored birds by listening to their calls.</p><p>Eventually, I applied for an internship that led to my current role as a research assistant. Each opportunity built on the last, and field experience really made the difference.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Research Assistant Requirements</h2><p>Being a research assistant requires a mix of skills. You have to be detail-oriented for data entry and scientific accuracy, but also physically prepared for rugged fieldwork. You’ll need to spot small behavioral patterns in wildlife, be okay with waking up at sunrise, and push through challenging outdoor conditions.</p><p>It’s a role that demands flexibility—you wear a lot of different hats. Personally, I love that variety.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>What a Typical Day Looks Like</h2><p>On a typical day, I’m up at sunrise and head into the field on an ATV. We study Florida scrub-jays, so I visit their territories to locate and monitor nests. Throughout the season, I collect demographic data on the birds—tracking nest success, behavior, and movement patterns.</p><p>It’s fieldwork-heavy, but that’s what makes it fun.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Pros and Cons of Being a Field Research Assistant</h2><p>There are a lot of rewarding aspects to this job. I get to spend every morning outside in nature, which is beautiful and calming. I’ve learned so much about the local ecosystem, and I work alongside a community of people who are just as passionate about the environment as I am.</p><p>But there are tough days too. When you’re tired or things don’t go as planned, you might find yourself wishing for the simplicity of an office job. It’s definitely not always easy—but it’s worth it if you love the work.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Advice for Getting Started in Field Research</h2><p>If you’re interested in becoming a research assistant, start by getting field experience as early as possible. Seasonal technician roles and volunteer opportunities—especially with local bird banding groups—can give you valuable exposure. Many organizations are happy to take on volunteers who are eager to learn.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>What I Wish I Knew</h2><p>Looking back, I wish I had known just how physically and mentally exhausting the job can be. The highs—like discovering a nest or witnessing rare bird behavior—are incredibly fulfilling. But there are also tough days where things don’t go as planned. That said, I truly love what I do, and that makes every challenge worth it.</p><p><br></p>

Research technicians help senior scientists to do laboratory or field tests for colleges, hospitals, self-governing research centers and other similar organizations. Their responsibilities are to plan research projects, undertake research, record findings, and keep records and accounts of the management of the project. They are also responsible for conducting experiments, processing samples, gathering data and in general assisting lead researchers.  They often collaborate on research projects, maintain accurate records of experiments, present data based on findings from experiments, write reports, and repair or fix machines and equipment.

A Zoologist conducts animal research, studying animals as individuals and in groups.  Their role is observing animals in their natural habitat and controlled environments, researching human influences on animal life, and studying the interaction between animals and their ecosystems.  Their responsibilities are lecturing and researching at universities, studying the development and spread of animal disease, advancing animal conservation efforts, writing scholarly articles and contributing to scientific journals, collecting and analyzing zoological data, and organizing and conducting research projects.

Biological Technician Career Path