Medical Laboratory Technologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Medical Laboratory Technologist analyzes samples of body fluids, tissues, and other substances for diagnostic and research purposes within a medical laboratory or healthcare facility. Perform complex chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic, and bacteriologic tests. Looks for bacteria, parasites, and other microorganisms, tests for drug levels in the blood to show how a patient is responding to treatment.
Job Outlook
There were 293 Medical Laboratory Technologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 8121 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Laboratory Technologist industry, which includes the Medical Laboratory Technologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Medical Laboratory Technologist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $93,570.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $86,633.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Medical Laboratory Technologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $76,944.
Education and Experience
Posted Medical Laboratory Technologist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 51.71% |
| Master's Degree | 1.91% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.34% |
| Other | 4.91% |
Posted Medical Laboratory Technologist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 82.7% |
| 3 to 5 years | 14.57% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1.58% |
| 9+ years | 1.15% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Medical Laboratory Technologist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Quality Control (31.82%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (15.06%)
- Communication (13.31%)
- Problem Solving (11.88%)
- Customer Service (7.57%)
- Quality Assurance (7.56%)
- Operations (7.3%)
- Management (7.08%)
- Detail Oriented (6.45%)
- Analytical Skills (4.96%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Biology (27.48%)
- Health Technology (33.66%)
- Chemistry (26.08%)
- Medical Laboratory (79.16%)
- Laboratory Testing (19.53%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Blood Banking (16.1%)
- Workflow Management (4.41%)
- Laboratory Equipment (15.57%)
- Laboratory Procedures (10.96%)
- Hematology (19.48%)
- Clinical Laboratory Science (18.48%)
- Cath Lab (14.83%)
- Inventory Management (2.53%)
- Automation (10.65%)
- Medical Privacy (1.53%)
- Biochemistry (2.23%)
- Quality Improvement (2.37%)
- Pathology (4.58%)
- Phlebotomy (10.06%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (6.92%)
- Microbiology (15.66%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Chemistry (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Medical Laboratory Technologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Medical Technologist/Medical Laboratory Technician
- Laboratory Technologist
- Travel Cath Lab Technologist
- Medical Technologist/Medical Laboratory Scientist
- Medical Technologist
- Medical Laboratory Technician/Medical Laboratory Scientist
- Staff Technologist
- Medical Technologist ASCP
- Blood Bank Medical Technologist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Medical Technologist
- Medical Laboratory Scientist
- Clinical Laboratory Specialist
- Blood Bank Technologist
- Microbiology Medical Technologist
- Laboratory Manager
- Clinical Laboratory Technician
- Medical Technologist Supervisor
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Medical Laboratory Technologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- K&A Recruiting (1151)
- Sonic Healthcare USA (302)
- Actalent (206)
- OhioHealth (136)
- Fusion Medical Staffing (106)
- Triage Staffing (102)
- MedPro Healthcare Staffing (92)
- Labcorp (81)
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (79)
- Cath Lab (77)
North Carolina
- K&A Recruiting (42)
- Cape Fear Valley Health System (25)
- UNC Health (18)
- Actalent (15)
- Novant Health (14)
- Labcorp (12)
- State of North Carolina (11)
- Atrium Health (7)
- North Carolina State University (7)
- HCA Healthcare (6)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Fundamentals of Entomology Undergraduate Certificates
- Microbiology Undergraduate Certificates
- Textile Chemistry Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.