Medical Technologist

[jmnj06]

I got my degree 7 years ago in MT. I learned so much during that time. First of all, this field is not regulated. There are only 13 states that require a license. Second, a Associate Level MLT can do the same job in some states thus lowering salaries. When I graduated I stated at 19 before taking my ASCP registry. Seven years later with my ASCP registry and a BS in MT i am only making 25/hour.

This field would pay better if they had a standard degree and license like most ancillary fields. There are multiple certifications ASCP, NCA, AMT, AAB. Depending how desperate employers are, they will take what they can. Also, some people are military trained without a MT/CLS degree or certification and they will be hired as well.

So when your working and see AS level MLT and military trained techs doing the same job as you when you have your BS degree with student loans its a little disheartening.

Some postive things to say about the career. You will find a job, and if you have your ASCP certification you can work anywhere in the country. Its a stable job, I dont know of any MT that were laid off.

The ASCP and NCA have merged recently so the profession is not called Medical Technology anymore its called Medical Laboratory Science. Also they are starting a Doctorate of Clinical Laboratory Science, which can be a higher calling for MT currently in the field.

I dont mind the field, I have been looking at other professions like pharmacy, optometry because they pay is so much better.

You can find out more info on the MLS field by going to ASCP.org

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MT PreMed]

I am currently a MT student and am applying to medical school. I would recommend this major to anyone that wants to receive a professional medical degree. You are taught things such as diagnosing leukemia, identifying pathogens to the species level, preparing blood, and much more. There is alot of science. The program I am attending requires taking a large amount of classes in the biology department and in my opinion my MT classes are much harder and preparing me more for med school than a biology degree. Also, a large benefit is being able to make money during the summers or if I was not able to get into med school immediately I would have a job very quickly, which can not be said for most bio major, especially in my area. The pay as a MT is not horrible (start at 50k with benefits and 401k), but should be higher especially when compared to nursing and x-ray pay. However, you don't have to deal with patients, which is a major plus for some.

MTs at my school are basically guaranteed a spot in PA school as long as they have a decent GPA and GRE score. From my understanding this is a national thing, because you learn a large fraction (I was told about 1/3) of the stuff you will learn in PA school as a MT. A previous graduate of the MT program at my school is currently tutoring his class mates in med school in leukemias, micro, and hematology because he already learned most of it as a MT. An MT can also take on more resposibilities in clinical trials and research than a bio major.

I can only talk about the stress of the job from witnessing it. Blood bank is the only majorly stressful part of the lab that I have seen. Doctors often don't understand that it takes about 45 minutes to prepare blood for a transfusion and that is assuming that the patients doesn't have an antibody and you don't have to test 10 units of blood to find one compatible unit.

As for the job being completely automated, it is not. Some areas such as chemistry are very automated, but a good MT will always be looking at results for descrepancies caused by things such as hemolyzed blood from a bad phebotomy, ect... Micro and blood banking however are almost completely hands on and require alot of knowledge and experience (far beyond what you learn in a general undergrad micro class).

If you do decide to major as a MT and apply to medical school there are some draw backs. The MT program requires alot of dedication and time. This means finding time to volunteer if difficult. The MT program I am attending is a 2-2 program (2 years of pre-req and gen. ed. and then 2 years of MT classes and some gen. ed classes). During the first 2 years you are basically an acting bio major, taking classes alongside all the pre-meds. I worked 30 hours a week as a pharmacy tech. during the first 2 years (even while taking organic) and had to quit when I started the MT classes because of the time requirments and the amount of studying. Also, the MT program requires so much science classes along with MT classes and combined with the gen. ed. requirements at my school I had to take physics during the summer just to fit it in, even though I took full loads (18 hours) every semester. This means I didn't get to take some classes that interested me such as cell bio. and philosophy classes.

All in all, I would greatly recommend a major in MT for pre-meds or those that may have doubts and/or want a back up plan.

 

[wutthechris]

Blood bank is the only majorly stressful part of the lab that I have seen.

You will learn differently when you finish school, especially if you are at a high volume hospital in a high volume lab or a high volume reference lab.

 

[pamac]

for the most part, i would agree with what the student is saying, with the exception of the stress in other departments besides blood banking. blood banking is indeed the quickest way to kill someone in lab, so it gets the most attention. ive found that having to trouble-shoot a messed up machine while you try to do all your other tests can be just as bad. the bigger labs generally have enough worker coverage to allow you to focus on one problem at a time. in my midsize/small facility i can find myself having to set up transfusions while troubleshooting, running stats, and drawing blood. throw in phone calls from nurses and doctors asking questions about tests, etc, it can make for a stressful shift. however, i really do love my job. every day is different, and its a lot of fun. its like being scotty in star trek down in the engine room making everything work. nobody usually even knows you are there, but they are screwed without you. i like to say that if it wasnt for the laboratory, you might as well just stay home and try to get better like they did in the old days because nobody could nail down what was wrong with you or how to fix you. thats a simplification, of course, but the lab is clearly central to healthcare these days. it takes a lot of work to make it run well. thats not to say i think its better than any other department... everyone has a place.... nursing, imaging, respiratory, pt, laboratory. having the knowlege you get in a laboratory definately cant hurt. its a broad extension of a lot of the life sciences that you will build on in medical or PA school... probably more so than the other careers. you dont get as much patient contact as some of those others though, and practicing medicine is more than just crunching numbers from test results.

 

[ester]

I graduated in June with a job before I graduated which was awesome. I work in a large hospital in hematology as a Medical Technologist (well I guess it's called Medical Laboratory Scientist now since that's what the largest certifying agency is calling it). It's a really good job. I love it. It was stressful at first but each day is something different and I am very fortunate to work with an amazing group of people. The degree is a difficult one, however. I ended up brutalized in my last year (during clinical rotations) and my GPA ended up being a 3.7. I took all the classes needed to fulfill pre-med, though, but I really am not interested in patient care. I've always had an interest in pharmacy due to my love of organic chemistry, but I don't know. I wish the lab was more respected and well known but in most states there are zero standards for who can work in the lab (people with associate's degrees, on the job training, etc) so education requirements vary so greatly that it's no wonder I get asked with shock why I needed a degree to work in the lab.

Anyway, it's a cool job. I like it. I work in a teaching hospital so I regularly meeting with the pathologists and we go over all the cool/interesting cases that come through the hospital. We are treated with respect by the doctors for the most part which is awesome!

 

[wutthechris]

I wish the lab was more respected and well known but in most states there are zero standards for who can work in the lab (people with associate's degrees, on the job training, etc) so education requirements vary so greatly that it's no wonder I get asked with shock why I needed a degree to work in the lab.

Requirements will vary between states and workplaces but an MT is an MT, which generally commands a greater salary and greater responsibility. The hospital that I work at does not hire non-MTs for anything other than processing jobs. Other companies may utilize MLTs but not let them verify results. It's different here and there but it's not as if anyone can walk in the lab and do what an MT does.

 

[ester]

My area and hospital is the same. We only hire MTs, but some states (such as Florida) DO hire MLT's and they function exactly as an MT would, with a reduction in pay. Florida even has a certificate program to become an MLT and AMT allows the designation "MT" to be used by people who do not have a bachelor's degree, after they gain so much experience. Most facilities require ASCP certification, so AMT is worthless, but again, some states DO accept the AMT certification. I've also seen and heard of people with degrees in other sciences such as Biology getting on the job training to work as an MT. The standards, unfortunately, DO vary greatly state to state.

 

[jersey9000]

Worked as a MT for 10 years, been a traveling tech for a couple of years.

The only area that has any sort of standards for the laboratory field is CA, they require a 4 year degree in Clinical Lab Science/MT and you have to do a year rotation. CA pays pretty well some as high as 40/hour.

Other states can be terrible, NO STANDARDS at all. I worked in places where on the job training was common. All you needed was a science degree.

Also places are doing online CLS programs if you already have a bio degree.

The MLT degree is another thing that lowers standards and wages because they just have a associate degreee.

I agree the MT degree gives you a great knowledge base for things like pharmacy, med school, PA. They always say a MT degree is a great stepping stone, the unfortunate part of that is, all the knowledgeable people are leaving for profession with standards (pharmacy, MD, DO, denistry) so the field is so short handed that they have to recruit from overseas and on the job train. This all leads to lower standards and lower pay, thus people leaving the field for better paying jobs.

There are only 13 states that require a license, and CA is the only one of the 13 that require a BS degree to get a MT license. The rest can use MLTs, associate level techs as cheap labor. I am trying to get into pharmacy myself due to the lack of standards in this field.

 

[ester]

I've had my eyes set on pharmacy school as well ever since I took organic chemistry and LOVED it. The other area I'd love is hematopathology, but I don't know if I want to go through med school and all the patient contact, clinicals, etc. when my ultimate goal would be pathology where I don't work with patients. I really don't enjoy patient contact too much I really enjoy working in the lab, though.

 

[wutthechris]

I've had my eyes set on pharmacy school as well ever since I took organic chemistry and LOVED it. The other area I'd love is hematopathology, but I don't know if I want to go through med school and all the patient contact, clinicals, etc. when my ultimate goal would be pathology where I don't work with patients. I really don't enjoy patient contact too much I really enjoy working in the lab, though.

You can work in hemepath as a med tech in a bone marrow lab. If you want to actually be the pathologist, that's a different story.