Expand mobile version menu

Bioinformatics Technician

What They Do

Bioinformatics Technicians Career Video

About This Career

Applies 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. Applies bioinformatics tools to visualize, analyze, manipulate or interpret molecular data. May build and maintain databases for processing and analyzing genomic or other biological information.

This career is part of the Government and Public Administration cluster Planning pathway.

A person in this career:

  • Analyzes or manipulates bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
  • Extends existing software programs, web-based interactive tools, or database queries as sequence management and analysis needs evolve.
  • Maintains awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
  • Conducts quality analyses of data inputs and resulting analyses or predictions.
  • Enters or retrieves information from structural databases, protein sequence motif databases, mutation databases, genomic databases or gene expression databases.
  • Develops or maintains applications that process biologically based data into searchable databases for purposes of analysis, calculation, or presentation.
  • Participates in the preparation of reports or scientific publications.
  • Confers with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.
  • Writes computer programs or scripts to be used in querying databases.
  • Documents all database changes, modifications, or problems.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would sit most of the time. There's some walking and standing. You may have to lift and carry things like books, papers or tools weighing 10 lbs. or less.
  • Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Seeing clearly up close
  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

  • Regular working hours and limited travel

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Research Scientist
  • Bioinformatics Analyst
  • Bioinformatics Specialist — Processes the biological information at the molecular level by using computers, and focuses on managing and analyzing the enormous amount of data that is being created in molecular and cellular biology, genomics and biomedicine.
  • Biotechnician — Works with biologists studying living organisms and helps maintain, set up and operate laboratory equipment; makes observations, calculating and recording results; and analyzes organic substances, such as blood, food and drugs.
  • Museum Informatics Specialist
  • Scientific Informatics Analyst

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support