Bioinformatics Technicians

bioinformatics technician at work

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

Experience Requirements Overview

  • Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
  • A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
  • Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
  • Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

On-the-Job Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Detailed Work Activities

  • Develop computer or online applications.
  • Search files, databases or reference materials to obtain needed information.
  • Enter information into databases or software programs.
  • Assess database performance.
  • Maintain computer equipment or software.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

  • Analyze or manipulate bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
  • Extend existing software programs, web-based interactive tools, or database queries as sequence management and analysis needs evolve.
  • Maintain awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
  • Conduct quality analyses of data inputs and resulting analyses or predictions.
  • Enter or retrieve information from structural databases, protein sequence motif databases, mutation databases, genomic databases or gene expression databases.
  • Develop or maintain applications that process biologically based data into searchable databases for purposes of analysis, calculation, or presentation.
  • Confer with researchers, clinicians, or information technology staff to determine data needs and programming requirements and to provide assistance with database-related research activities.
  • Participate in the preparation of reports or scientific publications.
  • Write computer programs or scripts to be used in querying databases.
  • Document all database changes, modifications, or problems.
  • Create data management or error-checking procedures and user manuals.
  • Develop or apply data mining and machine learning algorithms.
  • Design or implement web-based tools for querying large-scale biological databases.
  • Monitor database performance and perform any necessary maintenance, upgrades, or repairs.
  • Confer with database users about project timelines and changes.
  • Perform routine system administrative functions, such as troubleshooting, back-ups, or upgrades.
  • Package bioinformatics data for submission to public repositories.
  • Train bioinformatics staff or researchers in the use of databases.
  • Test new or updated software or tools and provide feedback to developers.

Work Styles

Persistence

Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

Achievement/Effort

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self-Control

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Independence

Innovation

Analytical Thinking

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.