Not a California state website. An independent project built from public data.
Afterward · CA

California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

Español (inicio)

Back to search

Biological Technician Training Pre-Apprenticeship

Pasadena Bio Collaborative Incubator · Pasadena, CA

Cost
$1,000
Length
10 weeks
Working 6 months later
50%

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled
20

Small group — treat with caution

Finished the program
92%Based on 13 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later
50%Typical California program: 69% of 1,690 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Earnings in one quarter after
$8,450A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.Typical California program: $10,900 of 1,339 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.

The job this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Where California publishes a separate figure for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.

Biological Technicians

Job ads may call this: Research Assistant · Research Associate · Research Specialist · Research Technician

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

  • Conduct research, or assist in the conduct of research, including the collection of information and samples, such as blood, water, soil, plants and animals.
  • Use computers, computer-interfaced equipment, robotics or high-technology industrial applications to perform work duties.
  • Participate in the research, development, or manufacturing of medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations.
  • Monitor and observe experiments, recording production and test data for evaluation by research personnel.
Show 4 more things this job involves
  • Analyze experimental data and interpret results to write reports and summaries of findings.
  • Provide technical support and services for scientists and engineers working in fields such as agriculture, environmental science, resource management, biology, and health sciences.
  • Keep detailed logs of all work-related activities.
  • Input data into databases.

What this pays in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)

Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.

AreaThe lowest-paid tenth earn underHalf earn underThe highest-paid tenth earn over
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$48,560$71,064$109,107
Across California$48,007$73,440$125,076

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.

Typical pay in California
$73,440per yearLos Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: $67,960
Projected openings
11,820Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 1,690
Projected change
+10.1%
Usually needs
Bachelor's degree

Getting in

Experience needed first
None
Training after you are hired
None

No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Program details

This program provides in-person instruction only.

This program is designed to provide skill sets and competencies necessary to be competitive for acceptance to apprenticeship programs requiring training in biological lab work. Certification may be either BioTC (exam given by Biocom) or Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) FROM CITI (Collaborative Institution Training Initiative).

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

  • Foothill Employment and Training ConnectionComprehensive center

    Phone: 626-796-5627

    1207 E Green StreetPasadena, CA 91106about 2.8 miles away

    Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 5:00pm

    Has a veterans' representative

  • Altadena AJCCAffiliate site

    Phone: 626-424-6743

    464 W. Woodbury RoadSuite 210Alttadena, CA 91001about 4.9 miles away

    Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

  • Alhambra AJCC - Affiliate to East LA/West San Gabriel Valley Comprehensive AJCCComprehensive center

    Phone: 323-887-7122

    104 S. 1st StreetAlhambra Chamber of CommerceAlhambra, CA 91801about 5.3 miles away

    Hours: Monday -Thursday 9:00am-5:00pm

    Has a veterans' representative

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you