Bioinformatics Technicians earn a median of $81,490 per year ($39.18/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 7.1% through 2035, with about 200 openings a year (BLS EP, 2025–2035). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 15-2099
- Computer and Mathematical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Bioinformatics Technician in four numbers
- Median pay
- $81,490a year, or $39.18/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $48KTop 10% $155K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +7.1%Much faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+7.1%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +7.1% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 2004,000 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 20254K
- Projected 20354.2K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 4K Projected 2035 4.2K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Bachelor's50.9%
- Post-bacc certificate2.5%
- Master's40.7%
- Doctorate4.1%
- Post-doctoral training1.9%
Highest education held by bioinformatics technicians Segment Value Bachelor's 50.9% Post-bacc certificate 2.5% Master's 40.7% Doctorate 4.1% Post-doctoral training 1.9%
Also advertised as: Biocurator, Bioinformatics Analyst, Bioinformatics Data Analyst, Bioinformatics Specialist, Biotechnician, Research Scientist.
Pay
How much do Bioinformatics Technicians make?
Every bioinformatics technician in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$81,490
Middle half earn $60,750 to $107,180
- 10th
- $47,980
- 25th
- $60,750
- 75th
- $107,180
- 90th
- $154,580
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $47,980 |
| 25th | $60,750 |
| Median | $81,490 |
| 75th | $107,180 |
| 90th | $154,580 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $81,490
- Median hourly wage
- $39.18/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $91,550
- People employed
- 3,720
Versus all US occupations
At $81,490, Bioinformatics Technicians earn 60% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $30,510 a year.
Versus computer and mathematical occupations
Inside the Computer and Mathematical group, where the middle occupation pays $116,580, this is 30% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $154,580 or more while the bottom 10% earn $47,980, a gap of 3.2×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 62% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
California pays the most at $180,500, and still leads at $163,024 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Bioinformatics Technicians the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1California | $180,500 | $163,024 | 120 |
| 2North Carolina | $101,850 | $107,977 | N/A |
| 3Texas | $93,090 | $95,913 | N/A |
| 4Illinois | $81,090 | $81,124 | 1,320 |
| 5New York | $79,460 | $73,628 | 70 |
| 6Alaska | $78,580 | $76,769 | 90 |
| 7Washington | $65,840 | $61,525 | 320 |
| 8Tennessee | $65,110 | $70,872 | N/A |
| 9New Jersey | $61,400 | $56,431 | 50 |
| 10Virginia | $59,990 | $59,335 | 180 |
Job outlook
Is Bioinformatics Technician a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Much faster than average. +7.1% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bioinformatics Technicians | +7.1% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Bioinformatics Technicians to change 7.1% over 2025–2035, roughly 2.0× the 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 300 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 200 openings are projected each year, 5.0% of the 4,000 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Bioinformatics Technician
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Medium preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as bioinformatics technicians.
- Bachelor's Degree50.9%
- Master's Degree40.7%
- Doctoral Degree4.1%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate2.5%
- Post-Doctoral Training1.9%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 50.9% |
| Master's Degree | 40.7% |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.1% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 2.5% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 1.9% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Bioinformatics Technician do?
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. May build and maintain databases for processing and analyzing genomic or other biological information.
Day-to-day tasks
- Create data management or error-checking procedures and user manuals.
- Confer with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.
- Document all database changes, modifications, or problems.
- Participate in the preparation of reports or scientific publications.
- Analyze or manipulate bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
- Confer with database users about project timelines and changes.
- Monitor database performance and perform any necessary maintenance, upgrades, or repairs.
- Maintain awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Working conditions and hours
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayAlmost never works outdoors.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeSeated for more than half the working day.
Standing
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayDealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayConflict situations are rare.
Cost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Reading Comprehension3.8
- Active Listening3.5
- Writing3.5
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Active Learning3.5
- Speaking3.4
- Mathematics3.4
- Monitoring3.3
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 |
| Active Listening | 3.5 |
| Writing | 3.5 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 |
| Active Learning | 3.5 |
| Speaking | 3.4 |
| Mathematics | 3.4 |
| Monitoring | 3.3 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Complex Problem Solving3.5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.5
- Systems Analysis3.3
- Programming3.1
- Systems Evaluation3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Social Perceptiveness2.9
- Coordination2.9
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.5 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.5 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.3 |
| Programming | 3.1 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.9 |
| Coordination | 2.9 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Analytical or scientific software · in demand
- Data base management system software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise application integration software · in demand
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software · in demand
- File versioning software · in demand
- Object or component oriented development software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Bioinformatics Technician?
O*NET Occupational Interests (RIASEC), scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Bioinformatics Technician |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 4 |
| Investigative | 6 |
| Artistic | 2 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 1 |
| Conventional | 6 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
- Investigative6.4
- Conventional6.0
- Realistic3.8
- Social1.7
- Artistic1.6
- Enterprising1.0
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Bioinformatics Technician
O*NET related occupations
- Computer and Mathematical
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Health Information Technologist and Medical Registrar
$68,020median a year
Most earn $40K to $117K
+15.9%Associate's - Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Computer and Mathematical
- Office and Administrative Support
- Computer and Mathematical
More computer and mathematical careers
Median annual pay, with bioinformatics technicians highlighted
- Software Developer$135,980
- Actuary$130,000
- Data Scientist$120,230
- Business Intelligence Analyst$120,230
- Database Administrator$104,620
- Web Designer$104,000
- Computer Programmer$100,390
- Web Developer$92,650
- Bioinformatics Technician$81,490
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | $135,980 |
| Actuary | $130,000 |
| Data Scientist | $120,230 |
| Business Intelligence Analyst | $120,230 |
| Database Administrator | $104,620 |
| Web Designer | $104,000 |
| Computer Programmer | $100,390 |
| Web Developer | $92,650 |
| Bioinformatics Technician | $81,490 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Bioinformatics Technician appears on
Questions
Bioinformatics Technician: frequently asked questions
How much do Bioinformatics Technicians make?
Bioinformatics Technicians earn a median of $81,490 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 60% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $39.18/hr. The middle half earn between $60,750 and $107,180. The top 10% earn $154,580 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Bioinformatics Technician?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Bioinformatics Technicians, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 50.9% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Bioinformatics Technician a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 7.1% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Bioinformatics Technician do?
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. A core O*NET task: create data management or error-checking procedures and user manuals. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Data base management system software, Data base user interface and query software.
Which states pay Bioinformatics Technicians the most?
The highest state medians for Bioinformatics Technicians are California ($180,500), North Carolina ($101,850), Texas ($93,090) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Bioinformatics Technician?
O*NET scores Bioinformatics Technicians highest on the Investigative, Conventional and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, INTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.