Clinical Laboratory Technician

Types of Degrees Clinical Laboratory Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many laboratory technician graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	2,384
Basic Certificate	589
Bachelor’s Degree	151
Graduate Certificate	60
Undergraduate Certificate	40
Master’s Degree	1

What Clinical Laboratory Technician Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to clinical laboratory technician and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Clinical Laboratory Technician Majors

Clinical Laboratory Technician majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Skills for Clinical Laboratory Technician Majors

When studying clinical laboratory technician, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

Abilities for Clinical Laboratory Technician Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a clinical laboratory technician student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Clinical Laboratory Technician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with clinical laboratory technician:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	14.0%	NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Laboratory Technician?

The major attracts more women than men. About 79% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of clinical laboratory technician majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	15
Hispanic or Latino	22
White	89
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	15

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Clinical Laboratory Technician, too. About 1.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Clinical Laboratory Technician

Some careers associated with clinical laboratory technician require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for clinical laboratory technician careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	0.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	21.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.9%
Master’s Degree	16.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	8.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.3%

Online Clinical Laboratory Technician Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	13	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	285	13
Bachelor’s Degree	6	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Clinical Laboratory Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to clinical laboratory technician.

Major	Number of Grads
Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist	8,480
Laboratory Sciences & Medical Technology	4,067
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician	1,333
Other Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions	858
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	265
Histologic Technician	253
Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist	132
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	123
Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician	122
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician	71
Hematology Technology	45
Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist	43

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Staff Sgt. Jerilyn Quintanilla under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.