Connecticut·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-4021

Best Biological Technician programs in Connecticut, ranked by enrollment

Assist biological and medical scientists. Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, collect data and samples, make observations, and calculate and record results.

20 schools in Connecticut run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,592 people a year. The job pays a median of $62,360 in Connecticut across about 650 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledResearch AssociateResearch TechnicianBiological TechnicianLaboratory TechnicianSeed AnalystBiotechnicianBabcock TesterBiologist Aide
Graduates / yr
1,592
in Connecticut
Median pay · Connecticut
$62,360
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
650
people employed
Schools
20
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
62%
across those schools
Median net price
$28,311
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Connecticut that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

13 programs in Connecticut that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Connecticut (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Connecticut page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1662
41.6%
18$32,152$25,000
2401
25.2%
5$35,393$19,961
3
Neurosciencemain feeder
188
11.8%
5$31,687$22,936
479
5.0%
3$32,152$25,000
557
3.6%
10$38,243$23,014
651
3.2%
2$38,243$23,014
748
3.0%
2$31,800$21,424
840
2.5%
4$29,460$23,480
9
Biostatisticsmain feeder
36
2.3%
2$72,338$18,500
1016
1.0%
1$38,383$22,065
11
Bioinformaticsmain feeder
9
0.6%
2$72,338$18,500
123
0.2%
1$38,383$22,065
132
0.1%
1$38,383$22,065

Top 20 schools in Connecticut

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 20 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT Public · 8 feeder programs
414Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology$35,39383%52%
2Yale University
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
298Neuroscience96%$27,0254%
3Quinnipiac University
Hamden, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
112Biomedical Sciences, General$44,65776%$36,13772%
4University of New Haven
West Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
106Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology63%$32,61460%
5Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT Public · 3 feeder programs
103Biology/Biological Sciences, General$36,90748%73%
6Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
86Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,45073%$42,70565%
7Connecticut College
New London, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
62Neuroscience82%$27,18337%
8Trinity College
Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
61Neuroscience$44,82384%$25,24529%
9Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
58Biology/Biological Sciences, General84%$36,84533%
10University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
48Biology/Biological Sciences, General64%$25,84179%
11Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
47Biology/Biological Sciences, General$41,97350%91%
12Connecticut State Community College
New Britain, CT Public · 2 feeder programs
40Biology/Biological Sciences, General24%
13Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
40Biology/Biological Sciences, General93%$16,46716%
14Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, CT Public · 2 feeder programs
35Biology/Biological Sciences, General$39,97758%83%
15Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT Public · 1 feeder programs
29Biology/Biological Sciences, General$37,78752%87%
16University of Hartford
West Hartford, CT Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
21Biology/Biological Sciences, General$29,76354%$28,31196%
17University of Bridgeport
Bridgeport, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Biology/Biological Sciences, General41%$25,14983%
18Post University
Waterbury, CT Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Biology/Biological Sciences, General25%$14,659
19Albertus Magnus College
New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Biology/Biological Sciences, General51%$32,57459%
20Mitchell College
New London, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography42%$30,73495%

All 20 schools in Connecticut

Every school in Connecticut with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Connecticut that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of ConnecticutStorrsPublic4148
Yale UniversityNew HavenPrivate not-for-profit2985
Quinnipiac UniversityHamdenPrivate not-for-profit1125
University of New HavenWest HavenPrivate not-for-profit1065
Central Connecticut State UniversityNew BritainPublic1033
Sacred Heart UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit865
Connecticut CollegeNew LondonPrivate not-for-profit623
Trinity CollegeHartfordPrivate not-for-profit613
Fairfield UniversityFairfieldPrivate not-for-profit583
University of Saint JosephWest HartfordPrivate not-for-profit483
Southern Connecticut State UniversityNew HavenPublic471
Connecticut State Community CollegeNew BritainPublic402
Wesleyan UniversityMiddletownPrivate not-for-profit401
Eastern Connecticut State UniversityWillimanticPublic352
Western Connecticut State UniversityDanburyPublic291

What biological technicians earn in Connecticut

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Connecticut
$62,360
Mean annual
$67,040
Jobs in state
650
What the range looks like
10th pct$39,520Median$62,36090th pct$92,180
Versus the national median
+8.4%

U.S. median $57,510. Connecticut pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.85×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Connecticut

Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
$61,990median
40 jobs
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT
$64,600median
40 jobs
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
$52,510median
120 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.5%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
9,100
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,900
82,700 → 85,600
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Biological Technicians page.

How to become a Biological Technician

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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

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.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningScienceActive LearningWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Connecticut

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 19 majors mapped to Biological Technicians19 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
  • 26.0102Biomedical Sciences, General
  • 26.0202Biochemistry
  • 26.0204Molecular Biology
  • 26.0406Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • 26.0502Microbiology, General
  • 26.0503Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
  • 26.0508Microbiology and Immunology
  • 26.0701Zoology/Animal Biology
  • 26.0708Animal Behavior and Ethology
  • 26.0709Wildlife Biology
  • 26.0801Genetics, General
  • 26.1102Biostatistics
  • 26.1103Bioinformatics
  • 26.1104Computational Biology
  • 26.1302Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography
  • 26.1304Aquatic Biology/Limnology
  • 26.1501Neuroscience
  • 41.0101Biology/Biotechnology Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing biological technicians programs in Connecticut.

What degree do you need to become a Biological Technician?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biology/Biological Sciences, General, which awarded 662 degrees in Connecticut in 2024-25, 41.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Biological Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 13 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences, Neurobiology and Neurosciences, Biochemistry, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 1,592 people a year in Connecticut.

How much do biological technicians earn in Connecticut?+

The median is $62,360 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.4% above the U.S. median of $57,510. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for biological technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 9,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Connecticut?+

20 institutions in Connecticut reported graduates from at least one of the 13 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do biological technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Research Associate, Research Technician, Biological Technician, Laboratory Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4021.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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