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Main Careers Options Page | What is Biotech? | Biotech Around the World 
Biotech in the US | Biotech in KS | 2+2+2 | Job Skills 
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Biotechnology companies were surveyed for a variety of jobs skills that their current or future employees need to be successfulin their careers. Eleven categories were looked at with more than 140 skills listed. The categories are found in the chart along with a summary of the job skills required. The information was summarized from companies that completed the survey. Specific statistics are difficult because of the wide variety of companies surveyed and the diversity of positions available in them.

View the Education and Training Table (PDF)

Technical Communication Skills

 Communication skills are probably most overlooked by someone wanting to get into the field. But in all positions in all companies, the basic skills of reading, writing and interacting with colleagues, vendors and clients is extremely important. Successful individuals need to understand the technical vocabulary of their positions and be able to understand, at a minimum, the protocols their jobs require.

Safety

 Safety is paramount in any job, but when working with potentially harmful chemicals and dangerous pieces of equipment, biotech workers have unique safety requirements. They are primarily responsible for their own safety. Therefore, they must identify the information, equipment and procedures that their institution provides for that safety. The most important part of safety is maintaining a clean environment.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control For these positions, basic testing skills are important to check that all of the raw materials going into a product are of proper quality (QC), that the final product has been made according to the given protocol and that the product is what the company says it is (QA).
Basic Lab Skills Those pursuing a biotechnology career must be able to read and perform the procedures necessary in their job, often called SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). They must be able to perform any mathematical tasks, use and maintain the equipment, and maintain the supplies and reagents as the job requires. Many other techniques are job-specific and too numerous to describe here, but generally fall under the heading of GLPs (Good Laboratory Practices).
Equipment and Facility The maintenance of technical equipment and facilities is handled by special personnel. However, it is necessary for workers to maintain their equipment and to recognize when it may not be in appropriate working order and know what to do to correct the situation. They must be able to identify and correct the problem themselves if possible, or know who to contact if equipment/facility personnel are required.
Manufacturing and Production Manufacturing and production job skills in biotechnology are similar, in some cases, to most other manufacturing and production companies. Workers must be able to get the raw materials needed at the beginning of the process, properly make the product according to established procedures (GMPs = Good Manufacturing Practices), and finally package and ship the product to the final consumer.
Care for Research Animals or Plants Specialized skills are required especially when dealing with research animals. They need to be properly cared for to ensure their health prior to testing and handled in a humane manner during and after testing.
Conduct Animal/Plant Field or Pre-clinical Trials These positions require many of the skills already described.
Greenhouse/Growth Chamber These positions require many of the skills already described.
Regulatory Compliance Biotechnology laboratories and companies are overseen by a number of federal regulatory agencies as well as various state and local agencies. Employees must be able to follow these regulations and interact with those agencies as required. The most common agencies in biotechnology are the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Specific Lab Skills Four subsets of skills were surveyed.
  1. Microbiology - employees must be able to prepare, harvest and store microorganisms as well as perform bioassays. They must also know procedures for sterilization and decontamination of equipment.
  2. Cell Biology - employees must know how to grow and maintain cell lines and tissues, store them and perform assays.
  3. Nucleic Acid Techniques - employees must know how to isolate and manipulate nucleic acids, and know specific techniques such as electrophoresis and polymerase chain reactions (PCR).
  4. Protein Techniques - employees must know how to detect, isolate, purify, concentrate and perform assays.