Cytogenetic Technologists

Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
12% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
36.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses genetics, disease mechanisms, lab methods, and analytical thinking in research settings.

Clinical Research Coordinators
23% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
24.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies specimen workflows, protocol compliance, clinical documentation, and study coordination.

Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
33% automation risk | Low Risk
14.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Extremely close lab move using specimen handling, analytical methods, QA, documentation, and diagnostics.

Biological Technicians
33% automation risk | Low Risk
14.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses specimen preparation, lab equipment, protocols, observation, and data-recording skills.

Bioinformatics Technicians
31% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
16.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Builds on genomic data, lab results, variant workflows, and quality documentation with data-tool training.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

48% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Critical thinking

Quite important
Why this matters
Weigh options using logic and evidence, spot weaknesses in arguments, and choose the best approach when there isn’t a single clear answer.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 6 votes

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Cytogenetic Technologists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians was $61,890 ($30 per hour).

The median annual wage for Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians was 25.0% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians' job openings is expected to rise 1.7% by 2034

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 343,040 people employed as 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians' within the United States.

This represents around 0.22% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 449 people are employed as 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians'.

People also viewed

Computer Programmers Accountants and Auditors Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists Cytotechnologists Commercial Pilots

What people are saying (2)

CARO E J GIBSON (No chance)
10 Jul 2025 19:33
Cancer cytogenetics sees that 90% of first event abnormal chromosome events are balanced with the remaining 10% of those unbalanced. Nothing can do that 90% of early diagnosis but the human eye and if we wait long enough and allow other chromosome events to occur, those may be unbalanced. It is ONLY the unbalanced changes that can be picked up by microarray (but the actual abnormal percentage needs to be higher than 15% over the normal clone cell line populations) and sequencing. So, if you want a early diagnosis that all of our treatments are geared towards, it's the HUMAN EYE on band for band analyses of Geisma stained chromosomes. A sea of normal cells, go find the 2 or 3 with a balanced translocation between 2 or more chromosomes is ONE EVENT.
Caro (No chance)
25 Jun 2025 01:35
Low level percentage abnormal chromosome event in a sea of normal metaphase spreads. Most 90% are balanced rearrangements making early diagnosis not detectable by DNA sequencing nor FISH nor microarray. G banded metaphase spreads is the gold standard of cancer cytogenetics using bone marrow taps.
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

Analyze chromosomes or chromosome segments found in biological specimens, such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, solid tumors, and blood to aid in the study, diagnosis, classification, or treatment of inherited or acquired genetic diseases. Conduct analyses through classical cytogenetic, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) techniques.

O*NET-SOC code: 29-2011.01