What do they do?
Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May train or supervise staff.
Also known as:
Clinical Chemist, Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS), Clinical Laboratory Technologist, Histologist Technologist, Lab Tech (Laboratory Technologist), Medical Lab Technologist (Medical Laboratory Technologist), Medical Technologist (MT), Microbiology Technologist (MT), MLS (Medical Laboratory Scientist), Technologist
No Data Available
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2.2%
Change
Ranks #58 in job growth rate850Job Openings
Ranks #8 in net job growth
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Most Popular Majors that prepare Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
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#1
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Degrees Granted
4,029
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Female Students
3,127
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Male Students
902
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Median Starting Salary
$48,800
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#2
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Degrees Granted
797
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Female Students
611
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Male Students
186
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Median Starting Salary
$48,800
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#3
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Degrees Granted
501
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Female Students
307
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Male Students
194
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Median Starting Salary
$42,090
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#4
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Degrees Granted
108
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Female Students
89
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Male Students
19
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Median Starting Salary
$48,800
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#5
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Degrees Granted
105
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Female Students
84
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Male Students
21
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Median Starting Salary
$48,800
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- 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.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
- Analyze laboratory findings.
- Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
- Collect biological specimens from patients.
- Clean medical equipment or facilities.
- Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
- Maintain medical laboratory equipment.
- Operate laboratory equipment to analyze medical samples.
- Develop healthcare quality and safety procedures.
- Train medical providers.
- Supervise technical medical personnel.
- Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
- Cultivate micro-organisms for study, testing, or medical preparations.
- Communicate detailed medical information to patients or family members.
- Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
- Determine protocols for medical procedures.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 30.0 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
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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