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Chemical Technicians

Life, Physical, and Social Science · SOC 19-4031

31.5% AI Exposure — Very High
$60,390
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
7,200
Proj. Annual Openings
57,540
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-2.2%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
69/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 19-4031 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
31.5%
Very High · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
48/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$60,390
H-1B offered wage $51,480; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
7,200
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +3.7%.
Observed/proxy demand
7
FY2025 certified LCAs; 10,272 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

ScienceReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive ListeningWriting
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure31.5%
AI Resiliency69/100
Exposure BandVery High
Sector Avg. Exposure9.7%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

45.3%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic31.5%
AI capability · OpenAI39.3%
AI ability · AIOE65.1%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne57%

Top Skills

1.Science
2.Reading Comprehension
3.Critical Thinking
4.Active Listening
5.Writing

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

187
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
7
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$51,480
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#288 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

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.

Common titles: Analytical Laboratory Technician (Analytical Lab Technician), Chemical Analyst, Chemical Technician, Laboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Laboratory Tester (Lab Tester)

Representative Tasks

  • Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials.
  • Maintain, clean, or sterilize laboratory instruments or equipment.
  • 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.
  • Prepare chemical solutions for products or processes, following standardized formulas, or create experimental formulas.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Analyze chemical compounds or substances.
  • Clean objects.
  • Maintain laboratory or technical equipment.
  • Evaluate quality of materials or products.
  • Prepare compounds or solutions for products or testing.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotC++ · hotMicrosoft Access · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotOracle Database · hotOracle Java · hotPython · hotR · hotStructured query language SQL · hot

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
12.1%
Avg AI Exposure
8
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 19-4031: 2019 — employment: 65,760, median wage: $49,260; 2020 — employment: 63,490, median wage: $49,820; 2021 — employment: 57,690, median wage: $48,990; 2022 — employment: 56,030, median wage: $50,840; 2023 — employment: 55,880, median wage: $56,750; 2025 — employment: 57,540, median wage: $60,390.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure31.5%9.7%
OutlookAverage37% Bright
Median Salary$60,390N/A
AI Resiliency69/100N/A