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Food Science Technicians
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.
Also Known As:
Central Laboratory Technician (CLT)
Food Science Tech (Food Science Technician)
Laboratory Assistant (Lab Assistant)
Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech)
QA Lab Tech (Quality Assurance Lab Technician)
QC Tech (Quality Assurance Technician)
QC Tech (Quality Control Technician)
Quality Analyst
Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst)
Quality Tech (Quality Technician)
Wages
Annual wages for Food Science Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
21,300
5% Change From 2024
Explore Agricultural Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Order supplies needed to maintain inventories in laboratories or in storage facilities of food or beverage processing plants.
- Analyze test results to classify products or compare results with standard tables.
- Record or compile test results or prepare graphs, charts, or reports.
- Measure, test, or weigh bottles, cans, or other containers to ensure that hardness, strength, or dimensions meet specifications.
- Monitor and control temperature of products.
- Provide assistance to food scientists or technologists in research and development, production technology, or quality control.
- Mix, blend, or cultivate ingredients to make reagents or to manufacture food or beverage products.
- Train newly hired laboratory personnel.
- Prepare or incubate slides with cell cultures.
- Supervise other food science technicians.
- Perform regular maintenance of laboratory equipment by inspecting, calibrating, cleaning, or sterilizing.
- Perform regular maintenance of laboratory equipment by inspecting, calibrating, cleaning, or sterilizing.
- Compute moisture or salt content, percentages of ingredients, formulas, or other product factors, using mathematical and chemical procedures.
- Examine chemical or biological samples to identify cell structures or to locate bacteria or extraneous material, using a microscope.
- Examine chemical or biological samples to identify cell structures or to locate bacteria or extraneous material, using a microscope.
- Maintain records of testing results or other documents as required by state or other governing agencies.
- Taste or smell foods or beverages to ensure that flavors meet specifications or to select samples with specific characteristics.
- Conduct standardized tests on food, beverages, additives, or preservatives to ensure compliance with standards and regulations regarding factors such as color, texture, or nutrients.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")