Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
Health ScienceO*NET 29-2012.00United States
Perform routine medical laboratory tests for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May work under the supervision of a medical technologist.
- Median annual earnings
- $62,842
- Projected change
- +6.1%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 346.09K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
56.4% of the workforce
Growing to 367.16K by 2035
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The work
What medical and clinical laboratory technicians do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Conduct chemical analyses of body fluids, such as blood or urine, using microscope or automatic analyzer to detect abnormalities or diseases and enter findings into computer.
- Analyze the results of tests or experiments to ensure conformity to specifications, using special mechanical or electrical devices.
- Set up, maintain, calibrate, clean, and test sterility of medical laboratory equipment.
- Prepare standard volumetric solutions or reagents to be combined with samples, following standardized formulas or experimental procedures.
- Collect blood or tissue samples from patients, observing principles of asepsis to obtain blood sample.
- Supervise or instruct other technicians or laboratory assistants.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $38,718
- 25th percentile
- $47,478
- 50th percentile
- $62,842
- 75th percentile
- $81,611
- 90th percentile
- $101,595
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $62,842 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+6.1%faster than average
2025346,085 jobs
2035 projected367,162 jobs
21,077 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 56.4%
- Associate degree
- 30.9%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 7.1%
- High school diploma or less
- 4.2%
- Some college
- 0.9%
- Certificate
- 0.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Laboratory Technicians15,532 postings
- 02Medical Laboratory Technicians6,801 postings
- 03Laboratory Assistants5,506 postings
- 04Travel Medical Laboratory Technicians1,170 postings
- 05Quality Control Laboratory Technicians1,137 postings
- 06Laboratory Analysts1,118 postings
- 07Specimen Processors1,072 postings
- 08Research Technicians908 postings
- 09Clinical Laboratory Technicians734 postings
- 10Medical Laboratory Technicians/Medical Laboratory Scientists734 postings
- 11Donor Center Technicians712 postings
- 12Technicians670 postings
- 13Specimen Technicians637 postings
- 14Medical Laboratory Scientists564 postings
- 15Polysomnographic Technicians543 postings
- 16Polysomnographers527 postings
- 17Polysomnographic Technologists515 postings
- 18Laboratory Coordinators479 postings
- 19Medical Technologists/Medical Laboratory Technicians426 postings
- 20Sleep Technicians425 postings
Top employers
- 01Actalent2,565 postings
- 02Grifols1,339 postings
- 03Labcorp1,327 postings
- 04Quest Diagnostics609 postings
- 05Kelly Services582 postings
- 06K&A Recruiting564 postings
- 07Aya Healthcare512 postings
- 08Eurofins452 postings
- 09Sonic Healthcare USA435 postings
- 10Titan Medical433 postings
- 11ManpowerGroup432 postings
- 12HCA Healthcare413 postings
- 13AMN Healthcare359 postings
- 14CSL359 postings
- 15Spectraforce Technologies350 postings
- 16Octapharma314 postings
- 17SGS302 postings
- 18Insight Global284 postings
- 19Jt Medstaff280 postings
- 20Soliant Health273 postings
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