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Career Exploration

Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists

Also called: Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS), Clinical Laboratory Technologist, Medical Laboratory Technologist (Medical Lab Tech), Medical Technologist (MT)

What they do:

Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May train or supervise staff.

On the job, you would:
  • Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components.
  • Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
  • Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
On the job, you'll need:

Health

  • medicine and dentistry

Math and Science

  • biology
  • chemistry

Business

  • customer service
  • administrative services

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • reading work related information

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Verbal

  • read and understand what is written
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems

Hand and Finger Use

  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • put together small parts with your fingers

Visual Understanding

  • see hidden patterns

Investigative

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Cooperation
  • Stress Tolerance

Medical software

  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • MEDITECH software

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Spreadsheet software

  • Microsoft Excel

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $57,380

Education

Bachelor's degree or associate's degree is usually needed.