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What Is a Medical Lab Technician? Job Description & Career Growth

Learn what you’ll do in a medical lab technician job.

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Home » Specialties » Medical Lab Techician

Medical Lab Technician At a Glance

  • What you’ll do: You’ll work under the supervision of a medical technologist or physician to perform tests that help physicians diagnose and treat diseases. Medical lab technicians prepare samples for analysis, use equipment to locate microorganisms, monitor tests and procedures, analyze the chemical content of fluids, match blood for transfusions, and test for drug levels in the blood.
  • Where you’ll work: Hospitals, clinics, private laboratories, public health organizations, research and development departments of pharmaceutical companies
  • Degree you’ll need: Associate’s degree or postsecondary certificate
  • Median annual salary: $57,380
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Job Environment

Medical technologists act as supervisors for medical technicians, who perform many of the same duties in a physician’s office or lab. On the job, you’ll collect and analyze body fluids, tissue and other substances to determine normal or abnormal findings. You’ll operate sophisticated equipment and instruments to identify the results.

Both technicians and technologists perform tests and procedures that physicians or other healthcare personnel order. However, technologists perform more complex tests and laboratory procedures than technicians do. In these roles, you’ll work side by side in doctor’s offices, clinics, diagnostic labs and research environments.

Medical laboratory technicians often wear eye shields, gloves and other gear to prevent the spread of infection and to protect themselves from solutions and reagents used in testing.

Median Annual Salary

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median annual salary for lab technicians is $57,380.

They also cite medical and clinical laboratory technician median annual salaries by state. See what you could earn where you choose to work.

Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians

National data

Median Salary: $57,380

Projected job growth: 4.9%

10th Percentile: $35,220

25th Percentile: $40,440

75th Percentile: $74,920

90th Percentile: $84,670

Projected job growth: 4.9%

State data

State Median Salary Bottom 10% Top 10%
Alabama $46,690 $29,060 $72,670
Alaska $66,740 $35,010 $100,910
Arizona $46,600 $36,670 $81,280
Arkansas $49,160 $30,430 $75,020
California $61,180 $38,940 $107,780
Colorado $63,110 $37,250 $88,500
Connecticut $78,200 $46,180 $101,300
Delaware $63,520 $38,070 $80,630
District of Columbia $64,560 $48,300 $95,740
Florida $57,110 $31,620 $79,510
Georgia $51,950 $31,830 $82,600
Hawaii $64,200 $43,780 $84,590
Idaho $47,510 $28,680 $78,640
Illinois $61,390 $36,760 $81,190
Indiana $48,810 $31,450 $76,930
Iowa $50,820 $34,240 $73,050
Kansas $50,580 $33,200 $78,880
Kentucky $50,080 $30,240 $78,150
Louisiana $59,330 $31,600 $80,060
Maine $61,170 $40,560 $80,430
Maryland $51,920 $35,930 $84,690
Massachusetts $61,130 $39,390 $97,620
Michigan $53,850 $33,950 $81,290
Minnesota $60,780 $42,280 $82,870
Mississippi $40,060 $26,790 $65,990
Missouri $48,340 $31,220 $79,820
Montana $65,040 $34,170 $89,190
Nebraska $55,340 $36,340 $80,550
Nevada $62,640 $35,560 $96,850
New Hampshire $76,470 $45,510 $92,200
New Jersey $67,820 $43,200 $97,180
New Mexico $48,500 $30,440 $74,980
New York $79,640 $44,160 $105,840
North Carolina $49,640 $34,070 $78,020
North Dakota $58,470 $36,990 $81,740
Ohio $57,380 $36,360 $79,600
Oklahoma $49,580 $31,230 $75,910
Oregon $75,320 $44,530 $104,750
Pennsylvania $56,630 $36,500 $79,300
Rhode Island $64,710 $46,740 $96,940
South Carolina $47,590 $31,570 $73,670
South Dakota $49,430 $30,970 $75,030
Tennessee $55,670 $31,770 $82,470
Texas $50,070 $31,750 $81,710
Utah $45,080 $31,320 $83,900
Vermont $63,630 $40,200 $92,290
Virginia $55,180 $35,190 $81,120
Washington $62,140 $39,220 $98,390
West Virginia $56,480 $32,030 $82,260
Wisconsin $58,590 $36,510 $78,180
Wyoming $50,380 $32,120 $81,510

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2022 median salary; projected job growth through 2032. Actual salaries may vary depending on location, level of education, years of experience, work environment, and other factors. Salaries may differ even more for those who are self-employed or work part time.

Career Advancement

If you’d like to advance and gain more responsibility and autonomy in the field, you can move into a medical technologist position. There, you can specialize in a variety of areas such as:

  • Blood bank technology (immunohematology)
  • Clinical chemistry technology
  • Cytotechnologist
  • Immunology
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular biology
  • Phlebotomy
  • Histotechnology

Certification of medical laboratory technologists and technicians is required for licensure in some states and by some individual employers. Although certification isn’t required to enter the occupation in all cases, earning it indicates your dedication to employers, and your commitment to high standards and continued improvement.

Credentialing Agencies Include:


The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and American Medical Technologists offer national testing for the title of Certified Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT)