Is anybody here a Medical Laboratory Technician ? (doctors, career, healthcare)

[Messibarca]

Has anybody here completed a program of A.A.S. in Medical Laboratory Technology?
Did you find it difficult?
Would you recommend someone to join the program to be a MLT?
Is the pay good for this career?

-thanks

[MSchemist80]

I've heard the pay is not great like $12-15 an hour. It is also pretty dead end even getting the BSC and becoming a MT/CLS brings you up to the $40k range. I've heard there is a lot of shift and holiday work, doctors/nurses can be obnoxious to the techs, not much career potential, hospitals like making cuts in the lab so patients don't see it. You are pretty much at the bottom of the healthcare food chain. Why not go nursing or one of the other programs with better pay.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by Messibarca

Has anybody here completed a program of A.A.S. in Medical Laboratory Technology?
Did you find it difficult?
Would you recommend someone to join the program to be a MLT?
Is the pay good for this career?

-thanks

One doesn't "join" a program. You apply and are accepted if your grades are good enough (among other things). One way to explore the field is training to be a ASCP-certified phlebotomist. You will be able to get a taste of how things run in the lab. MLT/MT are in a growth phase similar to nursing in that we are aging out of the workplace. Average age is ~48y/o. Visit your local community college for more information or Home

[L210]

The pay and growth figures are easy to find.
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics