Best Life programs in Washington, ranked by enrollment
All life, physical, and social science technicians not listed.
12 schools in Washington run programs that feed this job, graduating 517 people a year. The job pays a median of $73,530 in Washington across about 980 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Washington that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Washington that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Washington (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 Washington page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.0401In Washington → | 251 | 48.5% | 4 | $37,366 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0104In Washington → | 157 | 30.4% | 4 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 3 | CIP 40.0401In Washington → | 48 | 9.3% | 1 | $41,430 | $25,500 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0406In Washington → | 34 | 6.6% | 5 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 43.0402In Washington → | 27 | 5.2% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 12 schools in Washington
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 12 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington State University Pullman, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 143 | Criminology | — | 60% | — | 87% |
| 2 | Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA Public · 2 feeder programs | 109 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $44,172 | 54% | — | 91% |
| 3 | Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Criminology | $40,228 | 43% | — | 91% |
| 4 | Seattle University Seattle, WA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 60 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | $51,100 | 76% | $31,900 | 77% |
| 5 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General | — | 85% | — | 39% |
| 6 | Gonzaga University Spokane, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Criminology | $38,028 | 86% | $30,006 | 82% |
| 7 | Green River College Auburn, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Forensic Science and Technology | — | 39% | — | — |
| 8 | Saint Martin's University Lacey, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 52% | $22,131 | 90% |
| 9 | Heritage University Toppenish, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Criminal Justice/Safety Studies | — | 54% | $13,380 | — |
| 10 | Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Criminology | — | 69% | $19,944 | 78% |
| 11 | Pierce College District Lakewood, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Forensic Science and Technology | — | 31% | — | — |
| 12 | Centralia College Centralia, WA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Forensic Science and Technology | — | 42% | — | — |
All 12 schools in Washington
Every school in Washington 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State University | Pullman | Public | 143 | 1 |
| Central Washington University | Ellensburg | Public | 109 | 2 |
| Eastern Washington University | Cheney | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Seattle University | Seattle | Private not-for-profit | 60 | 3 |
| University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle | Public | 48 | 1 |
| Gonzaga University | Spokane | Private not-for-profit | 36 | 1 |
| Green River College | Auburn | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Saint Martin's University | Lacey | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Heritage University | Toppenish | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Pacific Lutheran University | Tacoma | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Pierce College District | Lakewood | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Centralia College | Centralia | Public | 2 | 1 |
What life, physical, and social science technicians, all other earn in Washington
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,280. Washington pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Washington
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other page.
How to become a Life
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Washington
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 40.0401Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General
- 40.1001Materials Science
- 40.1002Materials Chemistry
- 41.0000Science Technologies/Technicians, General
- 41.0303Chemical Process Technology
- 41.0399Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 41.9999Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
- 43.0104Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
- 43.0402Criminalistics and Criminal Science
- 43.0406Forensic Science and Technology
- 45.0401Criminology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing life, physical, and social science technicians, all other programs in Washington.
What degree do you need to become a Life?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminology, which awarded 251 degrees in Washington in 2024-25, 48.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Life?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminology, Criminal Justice and Corrections, Security Science and Technology, Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology. Together they graduate about 517 people a year in Washington.
How much do life, physical, and social science technicians, all other earn in Washington?+
The median is $73,530 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.1% above the U.S. median of $62,280. 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 life, physical, and social science technicians, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 10,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Washington?+
12 institutions in Washington reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 life, physical, and social science technicians, all other work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Research Associate, Geospatial Extractor, Meteorologist Liaison, Lab Technician (Lab Tech), Digital Cartographic Technician, Quality Control Technician (QC Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4099.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card