Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May train or supervise staff.
Most important skills
- Science
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Quality Control Analysis
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Chemistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Administrative
- Medicine and Dentistry
What the work involves
- Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
- Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components.
- Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
- Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage.
- Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction.
- Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
- Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
- Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (52.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (27%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (33.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 29-2010 (aggregate); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 68% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 57% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 66% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 65% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 85% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 68% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 88% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 14.45%
- Contact with others most of the time: 11.82%
- Constant contact with others: 73.73%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 6.3%
- Fairly important: 23.85%
- Important: 13.98%
- Very important: 15.6%
- Extremely important: 40.28%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 20.53%
- Very important: 14.24%
- Extremely important: 65.23%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 4.87%
- Limited freedom: 7.48%
- Some freedom: 41.02%
- A lot of freedom: 46.62%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.14%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.42%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.78%
- Every day: 62.65%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.28%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.63%
- Every day: 16.57%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 5.93%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.33%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.86%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 53.28%
- Every day: 0.6%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.24%
- Fairly serious: 8.2%
- Serious: 0.62%
- Very serious: 14.74%
- Extremely serious: 61.21%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2025
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Radiation Therapists
Closeness 92/100 · job zone -1
- Analyze
Chemists
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Endoscopy Technicians
Closeness 91/100 · job zone -2
- Analyze
Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Closeness 91/100
- Analyze
Chemical Technicians
Closeness 91/100 · job zone -1
- Analyze
Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
Closeness 91/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 29-2011.00 · SOC 29-2010 (aggregate, low confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8