Medical Laboratory Technician Salary

Factors Affecting The Medical Laboratory Technician Salary

Are you considering laboratory work in the health care industry? What kind of medical laboratory technician salary are you expecting for this kind of work? If you love the sciences and would thrive in an environment where you deal with specimens, tissues and blood, then you're probably up to being a lab assistant.

That means working under the supervision of a medical laboratory technologist. Does it pay well? What will determine your medical laboratory technician salary?

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Working as a lab technician means formal studies. You can't wing this one because you are a key player in helping analyze, diagnose and treat diseases or disorders of the human body. This requires knowledge, competence and skills.

A two year associate degree program will suffice to prepare you for the job. Here's a tip: take up as much advance subjects even while in high school to help build your foundation even before stepping into post-secondary schools for training.

This means science subjects like anatomy, biology, chemistry and mathematics. And computer skills are an absolute must. You're looking at a median medical laboratory technician salary of $32,840 here. Entry level positions start off at a low of $28,968 for those with less than a year of experience and a high of $34,492. The more skilled and competent you are, the better your chances at being in the higher salary bracket.

Basically, you're tasked to help prepare and analyze slides of human blood, tissues and cells to determine the absence, presence, extent and causes of disease, according to the American Society of Clinical Pathology.

The difference between a technologist and technician is the level of complexity of tests performed so the laboratory technologist salary is necessarily higher. Experience will develop your analytical skills and also raise your level of judgment, making you an even more vital member of the medical laboratory team.

Specialization and credentials also have a bearing in your prospective salary. You can either be a general medical lab technician performing all kinds of lab tests, a phlebotomist (capable of blood extractions) or a histotechnician (handling tissue specimens). You need to be certified for these specialized skills.  

TYPE OF WORK ENVIRONMENT

After completing your training, where does a medical laboratory technician find employment? General hospitals with medical and surgival services will always have a need for your services. And they are also the highest paying employers with the average medical lab assistant salary at $36,840.

You may also choose to utilize your skills in the academic field finding work at universities, colleges and professional schools. The lab assistant salary in these places are around $36,290. Physician's offices and medical clinics also have a need for you.

There the annual salary is $33,980. Medical and diagnostic laboratories also employ a lot of lab techs, where salaries are in the vicinity of $32,600. Finally, other ambulatory health care agencies do hire medical laboratory technicians and pay them on average $31,320.

For two years of training, and assuming you've raised your skill and competency level, that's not a bad annual salary. You will need to be prepared for work rotations and shifting especially in hospitals and health care facilities.

SALARY BY LOCATION

Even the state or city where you work will dictate your pay. In Texas, the average salary for lab techs is $14.12 to $18.77 per hour; California pays them an hourly rate of $15.34 to $23.12; Tennessee is at $14.58 to $17.44, while Florida offers the lowest at $12.18 to $18.90.

Move farther down to cities and you'll see that Houston has a higher medical laboratory technician salary compared to the Texas average: $13.92 to $17.97 per hour. San Diego offers lab techs between $15.25 to $23.80. In Nashville, it says the annual average medical laboratory technician salary is $41,000.

So the job really pays well, and offers a lot of opportunities for advancement in the future. Why not think things over if you can be content with the medical laboratory technician salary and begin your preparation for a possible career by enrolling in any accredited laboratory technician schools.

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