Bioinformatics Technicians

Health ScienceO*NET 15-2099.01United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$81,014

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
+5.2%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
Bachelor's degree

53.3% of the workforce

Employment
4.47K jobs

Growing to 4.7K by 2035

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Build the skills

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The work

What bioinformatics technicians do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • 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.
  • Develop or maintain applications that process biologically based data into searchable databases for purposes of analysis, calculation, or presentation.
  • Enter or retrieve information from structural databases, protein sequence motif databases, mutation databases, genomic databases or gene expression databases.
  • Confer with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.
  • Participate in the preparation of reports or scientific publications.
  • Write computer programs or scripts to be used in querying databases.
  • Document all database changes, modifications, or problems.
  • Create data management or error-checking procedures and user manuals.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$47,469
25th percentile
$60,264
50th percentile
$81,014
75th percentile
$107,353
90th percentile
$155,270

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $81,014 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+5.2%average or slower
20254,473 jobs
2035 projected4,704 jobs

231 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree
53.3%
Master's or Professional degree
40.7%
Doctoral degree or more
6%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

In the market

Job titles and employers

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