Not an MLS/MT but an MLT (community college version) with 4 years experience. I know OP hasn't logged on since 1/14/18 but this is good for anyone interested. jsub and Pholaffle couldn't have said it any better. There's a shortage of MLS/MLTs so finding a job is pretty simple. The job market is in a decline as the number of positions available far outweigh the number of graduates from MLS/MLT programs. Taken from a report in 2016:
MLO exclusive report: The 2016 laboratory professional annual salary survey - MLO
The highest number of respondents were in the 56-to-65 age group—42.5 percent. This is slightly up from last year’s number, 41.7 percent. 22.2 percent were in the 46-to-55 group, compared to 32.7 percent last year. There was an uptick this year in the number of respondents in the 36-to-45 group—17.1 percent, as opposed to 14 percent last year; and 9.6 percent of the respondents were in the 26-to-35 group, nearly double last year’s five percent. The average age fell two years, from almost 55 in the 2015 survey to almost 53 in this year’s survey
I did my program through the military which kind of mirrors the internship portion of MLS training but isn't so heavy with the didactics. After graduating, I've had 3 different lab jobs all unique in their own way (fast paced, trauma/massive transfusions, complex patient pathologies, etc.). Because of this job, it pushed me to really consider applying to medical school due to the crazy/bizarre things that I've encountered so far as being a lab tech (working with an anesthesiologist during a massive transfusion who was resuscitating a mom who just gave birth and developed DIC while on the floor ). Another bonus is that once you become an employee, it's easier for you to reach out to physicians to shadow at the hospital you work at, as opposed to cold calling/emailing random physicians. At my old job, I was able to shadow two EM physicians and 2 anesthesiologists.
Management/supervisor roles are hard to obtain, mostly because you'll need multiple (10+) years experience and higher education to finally get to that level. You will be treated like a commodity and often times people will think you're less educated than most employees in the hospital. No one will truly understand how much you actually know because they don't know what kind of education is required to become an MLS/MLT. Most assume that your level of education is similar to that of a phlebotomist or CNA and often don't realize that the unit of blood you are releasing to them was retyped, phenotyped, and crossmatched for their patient. I'm happy with the pay though wish I made more per hour (I have received bonuses at 2/3 hospitals I've worked at due to the above shortage) since we are a critical aspect for patient care. When everyone in the hospital is looking for their stat lab result, waiting for that unit of blood they just ordered, the phone won't stop ringing, and the chemistry analyzer just took a sh it, you will go home that night/morning feeling beat down only to get up and do it all again the next day without any appreciation from anyone. Just when you thought you've been pushed to your limit, you break that barrier and realize there's a lot more that you can handle. You may surprise yourself at how controlled you are during a time of crisis and how you preserved through it all just to be able to do it all again the next day. That's what makes it all worth it for me: pushing me beyond my own limits, learning something new every night and improving patient care from a unique side of healthcare.
tl;dr future shortage=great job opportunities, great education to start working immediately after graduation, great experience that can be used in preparation for medical school, great fall back plan if you decide against medical school, may not always be respected by other professionals in the hospital.
If I could go back in time, I'd go enlist in the military and do this job while on active duty, get out and start working while going to school to finish up my BS, sit for the MT exam, work to pay off other debts and gain experience, and apply to medical school.
