Medical Technologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Medical Technologist collects and analyzes samples of body fluids, tissues, and other substances for diagnostic and research purposes. Works in a laboratory or healthcare facility. May conduct a variety of tests, or specialize in types of tests or types of substances; may examine cells for cancerous growth or collect and prepare blood for transfusions. Performs work similar to a medical laboratory technician, but usually conducts more complex procedures and tests.
Job Outlook
There were 813 Medical Technologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 24511 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Laboratory Technologist industry, which includes the Medical Technologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Medical 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 $72,520.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $73,180.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Medical Technologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $63,478.
Education and Experience
Posted Medical 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 | 21.19% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 70.63% |
| Master's Degree | 9.78% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1.2% |
| Other | 4.32% |
Posted Medical 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 | 70.14% |
| 3 to 5 years | 26.28% |
| 6 to 8 years | 1.87% |
| 9+ years | 1.72% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Medical 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 (41.81%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (21.86%)
- Communication (20.93%)
- Quality Assurance (12.22%)
- Problem Solving (11.79%)
- Customer Service (11.42%)
- Operations (9.72%)
- Management (6.98%)
- Detail Oriented (6.2%)
- English Language (6.18%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Medical Laboratory (65.41%)
- Blood Banking (25.97%)
- Chemistry (33.17%)
- Serology (9.92%)
- Clinical Laboratory Science (25.38%)
- Hematology (26.2%)
- Microbiology (29.21%)
- Coagulation (10.34%)
- Biology (35.65%)
- Health Technology (49.97%)
- Laboratory Testing (26.99%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Automation (11.22%)
- Specimen Processing (10.81%)
- Pathology (7.73%)
- Phlebotomy (11.4%)
- Urinalysis (8.65%)
- Laboratory Procedures (16.78%)
- Laboratory Equipment (17.16%)
- Immunology (12.01%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (7.63%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Immunohematology (6.62%)
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.
- Coagulation (59.91%)
- Serology (57.48%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Medical Technologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Medical Technologist/Medical Laboratory Technician
- Travel Medical Technologist
- Microbiology Medical Technologist
- Blood Bank Medical Technologist
- Medical Technologist ASCP
- Medical Laboratory Technologist
- Lead Medical Technologist
- Medical Technologist/Clinical Laboratory Scientist
- Chemical 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 Laboratory Scientist
- Medical Laboratory Technologist
- Microbiology Medical Technologist
- Medical Technologist Supervisor
- Blood Bank Technologist
- Clinical Laboratory Specialist
- Clinical Laboratory Technician
- Laboratory Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Medical Technologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (925)
- K&A Recruiting (853)
- HCA Healthcare (794)
- MLee Healthcare Staffing and Recruiting (675)
- ADEX Medical Staffing (673)
- Actalent (511)
- ProMedica (443)
- Quest Diagnostics (406)
- Labcorp Drug Development (380)
- Aya Healthcare (295)
North Carolina
- Atrium Health (78)
- Atrium Health Floyd (72)
- UNC Health (63)
- WakeMed (51)
- Cape Fear Valley Health System (48)
- K&A Recruiting (41)
- Novant Health (30)
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (28)
- LifePoint Health (22)
- ADEX Medical Staffing (22)
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.