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Ever since I was a kid, I have loved science. Just about every field of science, I can probably find something fascinating about it. Hell, I had to take some immodium one day and looked up how it works and immediately went, "whaaaaaaat?? that's so cool" while filling my bathroom with an impressive stink only few had known. That said, my biggest regret is that I didn't pursue science in college. Now, 10 years later, I'm looking at changing careers and focusing (in some way) on medical science. I know I do not want to be a doctor or a nurse (nevermind paying for that education), and I have some experience working in a lab. The three month I had the position (it was through a grant, I didn't like.. autoclave a lobster and get fired - though it was discussed), I enjoyed myself immensely. I absolutely love learning about diseases and pathology - much as I do, I don't have the money to return for a new degree in pathology or virology. Given that I know I enjoy lab work, I feel that looking into being a medical lab tech might be a good fit. I'm hoping to set up a time with some local hospitals or lab/diagnostic companies to shadow some people in the job, but wanted to see if anyone could offer some insight. I already know the pay is (slightly) lower than what I'm at now, which I'm honestly not TERRIBLY concerned with. I have an amazing husband who has been amazingly supportive throughout my whole "JOBS SUCK. EVERYTHING SUCKS. BOOOOO" funk. Obviously a huge paycut would suck, but I also see that it may be the sacrifice I need to make to actually be in a job/career I enjoy. So - my questions in general! 1. Is getting full time hours difficult? I've seen some postings at local hospitals and they all seemed to be part time. I would assume full time is easier at diagnostic labs, but really I have no idea. 2. How different is working at a diagnostic lab from working at a hospital? Would you recommend one over the other? 3. I realize this may be company/organization/hospital dependent, but what kind of career advancement is there? Is it a straight shot up, or is it more like having to change organizations to get progress career wise? (Ex. Starting as a lab tech > up to Sr. Tech (I assume that's a thing?) > Lead/Supervisor versus Starting at a clinic > move to hospital > move to.. I dunno, Mayo Clinic) 4. Aside from the certification/license and/or degree, is there anything else you would recommend to help make finding a job easier? What skills should I hone now to make my life easier later (either during the process of getting my degree/cert/license, or actually as a lab tech)? 5. How is performance measured? (Again, I know this is probably organization dependent.) 6. How would you describe an average day? If it helps at all, I am in MN. I expect the job experience is going to be pretty similar regardless of state, but figure I'll throw it out there. I appreciate any help you guys might be able to provide. I don't completely hate my job, but there's really no upward mobility for me and my supervisor's about as smart as a box of rocks. I can keep looking for jobs that pay my bills, but at this point I think I'm doing myself a disservice to not look into the fields that I actually have passion for.
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Feb 27, 2018 02:24
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 20:30 |
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I work at a Veterans hospital as a medical technologist not a MLT but maybe I can answer some things. For whatever reason the VA doesn't hire MLTs so I cant speak to that but its a great work environment, technology is moving so fast that you are always learning new things and getting trained on new equipment. Where I'm at an average day varies between setting up cultures (streaking plates) and running PCR flu one day to running CBCs and looking at blood smears the next, so I get a lot of variety. Honestly the job is enjoyable, the hardest part is co-worker drama so if you can avoid that it's great.
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Feb 27, 2018 07:38
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I'm in the UK, so probably more work details than career details apply, but: Over here we have a distinction between Medical Laboratory Assistants (or technicians), and Biomedical Scientists (err, scientists). Presumably if you're talking about a degree, you're more like the second one. Work is highly automated in most areas of the lab, so there's not too much difference between the jobs visually most of the time, in that both are primarily loading and operating machines. BMS are also taking processed samples and inputting or verifying the results afterwards, and their cool toys are usually more complicated or require calibration (which is also strictly their responsibility; MLAs aren't considered qualified to). The manual stuff that still happens (mostly slide reading, at least in blood sciences, but also some of the gel prep and metals stuff I'm not involved in) is strictly a degree-level thing, and also where there's the most room for some personal input, since a lot of those involve some more qualitative analysis. Staff are expected to keep current with medical advances, so there's some studying involved, too; literally textbooks and research paper type stuff, so if you hate(d) studying for uni, you'll probably not love that. I work in the immunology department in a pretty big hospital, so while we do internal work from the wards we also get a lot of referred work sent to us from other, smaller hospitals, but it's primarily stuff we have the capacity to do, rather than something involving particular expertise; our fiddly stuff is slide reading and you'd probably find that at any hospital. For truly weird neuronal antibodies and such, we send these off to nationally recognised hospitals and companies with very specialist gear; this might be the equivalent of your diagnostics hospital. I don't know about the jobs situation in the US, obviously, but work at hospital in the UK is full time and continues throughout all hours of the day for some departments (particularly haem and chemistry), though cuts to health services have forced them to hire temporary and part time staff. I can't think of how a hospital with a medical lab could operate a part-time service unless it was very low-throughput and didn't offer any sort of emergency care; indeed, I'd assume a referral lab would be part time more than a hospital one, because referral stuff you already accept it'll be at least a week just getting where it's going and coming back, so only doing runs in the morning or something makes sense. If the lab here clocked off at one, people would die.
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Feb 27, 2018 10:09
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spectralent posted:
Funnily enough, I actually meant the technician side. The lab experience I had was doing research funded by a grant and I realized at the end of it that I wasn't sure I was quite prepared to be a research scientist. But quite enjoyed the actual lab work. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed electrophoresis! From what I could see, it's something that needs certification or a license over here, and there are short programs at community colleges that I can do. That's really all I meant by degree. Since I have a BS already (in Graphic design, good job thinking ahead self!), I would have to pay for any additional BS out of pocket. Grants and scholarships might be possible, but I expect most are reserved for first time students, not those who just made bad decisions 15 years ago.
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Feb 27, 2018 14:29
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atomicdream posted:Funnily enough, I actually meant the technician side. The lab experience I had was doing research funded by a grant and I realized at the end of it that I wasn't sure I was quite prepared to be a research scientist. But quite enjoyed the actual lab work. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed electrophoresis! Yeah, to be clear, both of them primarily do "technical" stuff, in that both are primarily running tests on samples (stuff like PCR testing, for example, or preparing/reading slides, and mostly just putting things on machines); there's relatively few studies done at hospital labs, though at least over here it is a pathway open to you. Stuff like PCR is something you need a qualification and to be state-licenced for, so it sounds like that's similar, at least; that'd make you what we call a biomedical scientist. You can and do get kids with convincing A-levels (a bit like high school diplomas) as medical lab assistants (though, usually if they're young it's because they're part time while they study to become the former).
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Feb 27, 2018 20:14
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spectralent posted:Yeah, to be clear, both of them primarily do "technical" stuff, in that both are primarily running tests on samples (stuff like PCR testing, for example, or preparing/reading slides, and mostly just putting things on machines); there's relatively few studies done at hospital labs, though at least over here it is a pathway open to you. Oh, I realize they'd both do the same thing. For me, it's purely a financial thing. I can't afford to go back for another bachelor's degree (or masters for that matter), but this certification/associate's program is absolutely within my range of money. US college education is... fun? I'm hoping to get some time in with local hospitals/clinics/labs to get a better idea on the needs for employment. 
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Feb 28, 2018 00:48
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Hi! I'm an MLS (4yr degree/technologist) in the northeastern US, having worked both in a state that requires state licensure and one that doesn't. Lab work can be rewarding- I know that my work has directly helped save lives, and that's cool. However, it is not like science/research labs where protocols vary and you fight the good knowledge fight. It's a pretty good job, though, and my cheap state school degree paid off nicely. 1. Is getting full time hours difficult? Hahaha no. Not at all, the supervisors around here are desperate for qualified technologists and overtime is plentiful if you want it. The 2-yr technicians are more variable- it seems like a culture thing at different institutions. If the 2-yr program has some lab rotation/internship element to it, that will work heavily in your favor. A lot of the workers in this field are boomers on the edge of retirement, and a lot of places are starting to sweat. I work in an area with a LOT of hospitals, though- a smaller area with a single hospital may have a pretty stagnant demand for lab workers. 2. How different is working at a diagnostic lab from working at a hospital? Would you recommend one over the other? I've only worked at hospitals with >700 beds, for reference. From what I've heard, diagnostic labs (assuming you mean Quest or something) tend to be more poorly paying and can be very factory-like with their demands. They run on VOLUME, and you have to keep up. Hospitals can be crazy busy or dead quiet, and I see a lot of weird disease stuff at big academic medical centers- I think they're a better place to start out because you get more clinical context. 3. I realize this may be company/organization/hospital dependent, but what kind of career advancement is there? Is it a straight shot up, or is it more like having to change organizations to get progress career wise? OOH so this is the tough thing about the field- I've found pretty different cultures at each place I've worked. A lot of advancement, like any field, requires timing. There are a lot of people in this field that have worked as a tech for 25 years and are happy with that, some work their way up the same ladder for those same 25 years. Moving up may require switching to a new lab, and maybe looping back into the one you stepped out at a higher title. Some places encourage tech development, others could care less as long as you do your required continuing education. I worked in a couple hospital labs, and recently moved into a lab admin/IT position that has been great for my career. 4. Aside from the certification/license and/or degree, is there anything else you would recommend to help make finding a job easier? What skills should I hone now to make my life easier later (either during the process of getting my degree/cert/license, or actually as a lab tech)? Certification and/or license. Also, be a detail person and a multi-tasker. Labs can get chaotic quickly, and you need to be able to maintain focus on a busy day. Shore up your bio skills, and shoot for those certifications- that is the golden land of job security. Pay bumps mostly happen moving from place to place, like most jobs nowadays. 5. How is performance measured? Generally speaking- keeping the quality of your work up, being able to catch unexpected things and staying intellectually engaged, being able to handle the social element of the job. Despite not seeing patients, techs spend a lot of time on the phone telling nurses and doctors things they don't want to hear. The type of lab you work in (chem, micro, heme, blood bank, etc.) will definitely affect this. 6. How would you describe an average day? So my main gripe with being a med tech is that you mostly do the same thing every day. A tech will usually be assigned a workbench/instrument for a shift. You run QC and perform the testing specific to that bench. You will likely like some benches more than others. Some organizations will have techs work on side projects, validations, research, administrative tasks- these are good organizations. Some will only let you do your bench stuff. I've worked at both of these places, and one was much better for my career than the other. Medium to large hospital labs are usually divided into different subspecialties- core lab (or chemistry and hematology), microbiology, blood bank, and specialty labs. They all have their pluses and minuses. Chemistry has lots of highly automated instruments. Hematology has a blend of automation and microscope work- and 8 hours of looking in a microscope is tough. (I've worked in heme and was glad to move on. YMMV some people that love it.) Microbiology is pretty chill, but boy you culture some nasty stuff. Blood bankers are generally considered to be neurotic because you can pretty easily kill a person through inattention and when poo poo goes down it gets real VERY fast. (I liked working in this lab). Specialty labs can be cushy 9-5 things or on-call hells. Coworkers can vary- driven med school dreamers, chill and smart workers of all ages, or some old fart who makes you do all the work but gets paid 3x more than you because they've been there for 30 years.
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Mar 13, 2018 03:02
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 20:30 |
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Thanks! I got a tour of the lab at a hospital in Minneapolis last week and got a ton of really great information. That pretty much solidified my plan to do the MLT program, hopefully starting in the fall! I'm pretty excited. And really, just about every job is doing the same thing every day barring creative fields. I do the same job every day, but it's nothing I'm passionate about at all and I'm done staring at excel for 8 hours a day. Thanks to the people who responded! I'm really excited to do something I think (hope!) will be more fulfilling than my current corporate job.
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Mar 14, 2018 20:11
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