Career profile for Biomedical Technician

What does a Biomedical Technician do?

Biomedical Technicians test, adjust, or repair biomedical or electromedical equipment.

What kind of tasks does a Biomedical Technician perform regularly?

Biomedical Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Inspect and test malfunctioning medical or related equipment, following manufacturers' specifications and using test and analysis instruments.
Test or calibrate components or equipment, following manufacturers' manuals and troubleshooting techniques, using hand tools, power tools, or measuring devices.
Keep records of maintenance, repair, and required updates of equipment.
Perform preventive maintenance or service, such as cleaning, lubricating, or adjusting equipment.
Test, evaluate, and classify excess or in-use medical equipment and determine serviceability, condition, and disposition, in accordance with regulations.
Examine medical equipment or facility's structural environment and check for proper use of equipment to protect patients and staff from electrical or mechanical hazards and to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Disassemble malfunctioning equipment and remove, repair, or replace defective parts, such as motors, clutches, or transformers.
Plan and carry out work assignments, using blueprints, schematic drawings, technical manuals, wiring diagrams, or liquid or air flow sheets, following prescribed regulations, directives, or other instructions as required.
Research catalogs or repair part lists to locate sources for repair parts, requisitioning parts and recording their receipt.
Solder loose connections, using soldering iron.
Explain or demonstrate correct operation or preventive maintenance of medical equipment to personnel.
Contribute expertise to develop medical maintenance standard operating procedures.
Evaluate technical specifications to identify equipment or systems best suited for intended use and possible purchase, based on specifications, user needs, or technical requirements.
Study technical manuals or attend training sessions provided by equipment manufacturers to maintain current knowledge.

The above responsibilities are specific to Biomedical Technicians. More generally, Biomedical Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards		Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment		Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment

Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

What is a Biomedical Technician salary?

The median salary for a Biomedical Technician is $51,610, and the average salary is $55,090. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Biomedical Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Biomedical Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Biomedical Technicians earn less than $31,180 per year, 25% earn less than $38,700, 75% earn less than $67,930, and 90% earn less than $84,720.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Biomedical Technicians is expected to change by 7.1%, and there should be roughly 6,300 open positions for Biomedical Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $51,610
Typical salary range: $31,180 - $84,720
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 7.1%

What personality traits are common among Biomedical Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Biomedical Technician are usually higher in their Realistic, Investigative, and Conventional interests.

Biomedical Technicians typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Biomedical Technicians typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Biomedical Technicians typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Biomedical Technician tend to value Support, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Biomedical Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Biomedical Technicians moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Biomedical Technicians moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Biomedical Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and analytical thinking.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Biomedical Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Analytical Thinking		Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Analytical Thinking

Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

What education and training do Biomedical Technicians need?

Biomedical Technicians often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Biomedical Technicians usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Biomedical Technicians

3.5% did not complete high school or secondary school
25.1% completed high school or secondary school
27.4% completed some college coursework
20.4% earned a Associate's degree
19.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
3.7% earned a Master's degree
0.6% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Biomedical Technicians

Biomedical Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as mechanical, computers and electronics, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Biomedical Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
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.
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.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

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.

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.

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.

Important Abilities needed by Biomedical Technicians

Biomedical Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Biomedical Technicians need abilities such as problem sensitivity, finger dexterity, and deductive reasoning in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Biomedical Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Finger Dexterity		The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Inductive Reasoning		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Critical Skills needed by Biomedical Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Biomedical Technicians frequently use skills like equipment maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairing to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Biomedical Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Equipment Maintenance		Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting		Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Repairing		Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Quality Control Analysis		Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Equipment Maintenance

Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Troubleshooting

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Repairing

Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Biomedical Technician

Biomedical Technician

Table of Contents

Would Biomedical Technician be a good fit for you?