Chemical Technicians
Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and related sciences.
Most important skills
- Science
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Production and Processing
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Monitor product quality to ensure compliance with standards and specifications.
- Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.
- Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials.
- Compile and interpret results of tests and analyses.
- Provide technical support or assistance to chemists or engineers.
- Prepare chemical solutions for products or processes, following standardized formulas, or create experimental formulas.
- Maintain, clean, or sterilize laboratory instruments or equipment.
- Write technical reports or prepare graphs or charts to document experimental results.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (43.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (33.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (26.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Chemical Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 82% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 78% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 77% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 74% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 84% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 75% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 53% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 84% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.12%
- Contact with others most of the time: 30.58%
- Constant contact with others: 41.52%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 29.17%
- Fairly important: 18.55%
- Important: 25.64%
- Very important: 11.86%
- Extremely important: 14.77%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 2.06%
- Very important: 39.11%
- Extremely important: 58.84%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 12.17%
- Very little freedom: 0.54%
- Limited freedom: 4.12%
- Some freedom: 57.21%
- A lot of freedom: 25.96%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.54%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 12.16%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 48.26%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 39.89%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.7%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.62%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.62%
- Every day: 12.17%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.62%
- Every day: 30.34%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.06%
- Fairly serious: 1.09%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 4.12%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 19-4031.00 · SOC 19-4031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8