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Lab Sciences & Medical Technology

A program that prepares individuals to conduct and supervise complex medical tests, clinical trials, and research experiments; manage clinical laboratories; and consult with physicians and clinical researchers on diagnoses, disease causation and spread, and research outcomes. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, immunology, immunohematology, physiological relationships to test results, laboratory procedures and quality assurance controls, test and research design and implementation, analytic techniques, laboratory management, data development and reporting, medical informatics, and professional standards and regulations.

Types of Degrees Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	75
Associate’s Degree	52
Bachelor’s Degree	3,060
Master’s Degree	684
Doctor’s Degree	22

What Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Majors Need to Know

Programs in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Chemistry — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Lab Sciences & Medical Technology program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Lab Sciences & Medical Technology careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.8 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	3.7 / 7
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	3.7 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Lab Sciences & Medical Technology professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Laboratory information system LIS	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
eTeleNext LIS	Medical software	—
ClinLab LIS	Medical software	—
GE Healthcare Centricity Laboratory	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates include:

• Cytologist
• Medical Technologist (MT)
• Cytology Applications Specialist
• Cytopathology Technologist
• Cytotechnologist
• Certified Cytotechnologist
• Cytology Coordinator
• Cytology Technical Specialist
• Histotechnologist
• Clinical Cytogeneticist Scientist (CCS)
• Cytogenetics Technical Specialist
• Flow Cytometry Technologist
• Cytogenetics Clinical Laboratory Specialist (CG CLSp)
• Cytotechnician
• Laboratory Technologist (Lab Technologist)

What Can You Do With a Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Cytotechnologists	10.3%	$155,812	$122,715–$188,909
Cytogenetic Technologists	1.9%	$155,361	$132,419–$178,303
Histotechnologists	4.1%	$125,527	$97,510–$153,544
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	3.9%	$77,339	$66,096–$88,581

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	49.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	19.2%
Master’s degree	11.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.3%
Doctoral degree	3.8%
Postsecondary certificate	3.4%
Post-doctoral training	2.9%
Some college courses	1.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.0%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 76.3% of Lab Sciences & Medical Technology degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,969	76.3%
Men	924	23.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,936	49.7%
Asian	523	13.4%
Hispanic or Latino	679	17.4%
Black or African American	332	8.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	22	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	8	0.2%
Two or More Races	136	3.5%
Race Unknown	131	3.4%
International Students	126	3.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$42,942
4 years	$39,910
5 years	$44,672

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,672 — roughly 4% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Lab Sciences & Medical Technology. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	2	1
Bachelor’s	16	19
Master’s	7	6

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Lab Sciences & Medical Technology Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Lab Sciences & Medical Technology graduates earn a median of $39,910 four years after completion — roughly 5% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	20,443
Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist	9,347
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Technician	3,329
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician	1,964
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions, Other	895
Histologic Technician	260
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	241
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	127
Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist	104

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.