# Food Science Technicians

> Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.

- **SOC code:** 19-4013.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4013-00
- **Also known as:** Central Laboratory Technician (CLT), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), QC Tech (Quality Control Technician), Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst), Food Science Tech (Food Science Technician), Laboratory Assistant (Lab Assistant), QA Lab Tech (Quality Assurance Lab Technician), QC Tech (Quality Assurance Technician)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Taste or smell foods or beverages to ensure that flavors meet specifications or to select samples with specific characteristics.
- Measure, test, or weigh bottles, cans, or other containers to ensure that hardness, strength, or dimensions meet specifications.
- Maintain records of testing results or other documents as required by state or other governing agencies.
- Monitor and control temperature of products.
- Analyze test results to classify products or compare results with standard tables.
- Record or compile test results or prepare graphs, charts, or reports.
- Prepare or incubate slides with cell cultures.
- Perform regular maintenance of laboratory equipment by inspecting, calibrating, cleaning, or sterilizing.
- Examine chemical or biological samples to identify cell structures or to locate bacteria or extraneous material, using a microscope.
- Conduct standardized tests on food, beverages, additives, or preservatives to ensure compliance with standards and regulations regarding factors such as color, texture, or nutrients.
- Mix, blend, or cultivate ingredients to make reagents or to manufacture food or beverage products.
- Train newly hired laboratory personnel.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Food Production _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Linux _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft SQL Server _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Visio _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- SAS _(hot technology)_
- Apache JMeter

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 32nd percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 39th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 28th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.8% growth (About average); 3.2k annual openings; 20.4k → 21.3k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $49,430; 14,200 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130

---
_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4013-00_