Also called: Freeze-Drying Technician, Lyo Operator
Runs the giant freeze-dryers that turn liquid vaccines and drugs into stable powders that can be shipped and stored.
Loads thousands of glass vials of a vaccine onto chilled shelves in a stainless-steel freeze-dryer the size of a walk-in closet. The cycle runs for days, slowly pulling water out as vapor under vacuum. You watch temperature and pressure graphs, record every step, and unload sealed vials for inspection.
Estimate; shift differentials raise pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree or biotech certificate is common; trained on the job in clean-room rules.
Ways in: 2-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Biotechnology, Biology, Chemistry.
Growing faster than average. Biologic drug and vaccine production is growing.
Medium risk for 10 years. Automation runs more of the cycle, but loading, monitoring and fixing problems in a clean room stay human.
Classes: Chemistry, Biology, Physics.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.