Medical Lab Assistant & Technician Careers

Medical labs always need new employees to help perform duties in hospitals, medical centers, and private clinics. These laboratory jobs involve cleaning and sterilizing glassware, operating lab equipment, and prepare and run specimen samples, which can range from human tissue to bacterial DNA, depending on the lab. There are generally a wide variety of tasks to be done in a medical lab at any one time, so the ability to think on your feet is important.

What are common lab tasks?
Fixing blood and other liquid samples on slides is a common task in labs, as are running DNA samples on gels for blot analysis, operating centrifuges to purify samples, using chromatography machines to identify molecular samples, and operating an autoclave to sterilize equipment.

What skills does one need to work in a medical lab?
Since medical labs collect a vast array of data, working in one will usually require being able to organize and enter that data into computer programs, and possibly analyze it as well. Small samples of biological material and chemicals may have to be tested in order to ensure their quality. Lab equipment like photometers, spectrometers, calorimeters, and other sampling and analysis devices also must be regularly tested and calibrated to ensure that their measuring capacity is correct.

What types of careers are available in a medical lab?
Lab positions have many different titles, requiring different levels of education:
- Laboratory assistants generally require an associate's degree, and, as their name implies, they assist with running samples, conducting studies, and making sure that the daily operation of the lab runs smoothly.
- Laboratory technicians can require a bachelor's or even master's degree, and generally have some role in preparing grant applications, planning and conducting studies, and gathering samples from patients, participants, or other sources.

What education or training is recommended for a medical lab career?
An associate's degree in laboratory science is usually the first step toward a career in a medical lab, and along the way, your laboratory assistant certification can usually be earned as well. These degrees will help you learn the requisite medical theory needed to understand and conduct medical lab work, as well as the practical skills such as phlebotomy and specimen sampling that are required to be an effective member of a laboratory team.

If working in a fast-paced environment that requires plenty of quick thinking and careful planning, a career in a medical lab may be right for you. Start today by taking a medical lab job aptitude test or career assessment to see if your skills and interests match that of the job!

Medical and healthcare careers related to the medical testing careers:

• Diagnostic
• Radiologic
• Ultrasound

Data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

The salary range for Medical Lab begins around $24,210 and usually tops out around $56,040, with a mean in the neighborhood of $40,125. This is about 8% lower than the national average for annual salaries.