What exactly does a medical lab technologist do?
There’s 2 main types of degrees for med lab techs. The lesser degree is an associates and the job title is medical laboratory technician. The more advanced degree is a bachelor’s and the job title is Medical Technologist. If you have a life sciences degree they may hire you but you will probably need additional education leading to an ASCP certification to continue working in the field. There is a large shortage in the field and it’s getting worse mainly because the pay is often as much as half what a nurse with an equivalent education makes. $30,000 for an associates and $45,000 for a Bachelor’s seems to be the average. Some states have much more stringent requirements for education and certification (mainly Florida and California). This makes it difficult to move to those states and get a job if you were certified in another state originally. In many labs they are reorganizing the job functions more efficiently to deal with the shortage of techs. This typically involves putting most
