Laboratory technicians and technologists are trained professionals in the field of diagnostic testing. They use a variety of technologies to analyze blood and other tissues for parasites, chemicals, drugs and other factors affecting health. They also perform services, such as blood type matching for transfusions. Laboratory technicians typically have a vocational certificate or associate degree, and work under the direction of a technologist or laboratory manager. Technologists typically have a bachelor's degree and work independently. Technologists exercise greater responsibility and command a higher salary than technicians.
Technicians and technologists may begin in the field without formal training, but this is increasingly rare as the field grows more sophisticated. Today's technicians generally require at least a vocational certificate or an associate degree in science from an accredited program. Non-medical courses include mathematics, statistics and English while medically-oriented courses include basic chemistry, biology and microbiology. Bachelor's degrees for technologists cover more advanced laboratory topics, and provide additional management and administrative skills.
There are hundreds of schools across the country that offer programs in clinical laboratory technology. These include universities such as Alabama's Auburn, community colleges such as Barton Community College in South Bend, Kansas, private trade schools such as Indianapolis-based MedTech with 10 locations or clinical health care facilities such as St John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Most of the colleges and universities also offer a bachelor's degree for medical technologists. Programs are approved by organizations, including the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
In its 2009 survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected job growth of 14 percent through 2018 for laboratory technicians and technologists, driven, in part, by the aging population and the ongoing development of new testing technologies. In the 2009 survey the middle 50 percent of laboratory technicians reported an average annual income of $36,030 while laboratory technologists averaged $55,140. Those technologists and technicians in advanced specializations or management commanded a premium in salary. The top 10 percent of technicians earned an average of $55,210 a year while the corresponding group of technologists averaged $75,960.