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Histology Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Prepare histological slides from tissue sections for microscopic examination and diagnosis by pathologists. May assist with research studies.

Related: Cytogenetic Technologists Histotechnologists Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technicians Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technologists Phlebotomists

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Cut sections of body tissues for microscopic examination, using microtomes.
Stain tissue specimens with dyes or other chemicals to make cell details visible under microscopes.
Embed tissue specimens into paraffin wax blocks, or infiltrate tissue specimens with wax.
Operate computerized laboratory equipment to dehydrate, decalcify, or microincinerate tissue samples.
Archive diagnostic material, such as histologic slides and blocks.
Maintain laboratory equipment, such as microscopes, mass spectrometers, microtomes, immunostainers, tissue processors, embedding centers, and water baths.
Mount tissue specimens on glass slides.
Freeze tissue specimens.

Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.

Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

68650/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.01/hr

Currently Employed

7,750

Yearly Projected Openings

630

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Integrity
Dependability
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance
Achievement/Effort

Automated cover slipping equipment
Benchtop centrifuges
Desktop computers
Drying cabinets or ovens
General purpose refrigerators or refrigerator freezers
Histological hones or straps or compounds
Histological knives or knife holders or blades
Histology or cytology slide stainers
Histology or tissue cassette cabinets
Label making machines
Laboratory balances
Laboratory microwave ovens
Laboratory staining dishes or jars
Microscope slide cabinets
Microtomes
Tissue culture incubators
Tissue embedding stations
Tissue flotation baths
Tissue processors
Ultra cold or ultralow upright cabinets or freezers
Water baths
pH meters

Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Label making software
Medical software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Histology Technicians

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