Central laboratory technician vs clinical laboratory assistant

The differences between central laboratory technicians and clinical laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a central laboratory technician and a clinical laboratory assistant. Additionally, a central laboratory technician has an average salary of $33,117, which is higher than the $32,679 average annual salary of a clinical laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a central laboratory technician include laboratory equipment, GMP and analytical equipment. The most important skills for a clinical laboratory assistant are patients, phlebotomy, and clinical lab.

Central laboratory technician vs clinical laboratory assistant overview

	Central Laboratory Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$33,117	$32,679
Hourly rate	$15.92	$15.71
Growth rate	-	10%
Number of jobs	43,887	108,124
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	12	12

Central laboratory technician vs clinical laboratory assistant salary

Central laboratory technicians and clinical laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Central Laboratory Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$33,117	$32,679
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $54,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Roswell Park
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between central laboratory technician and clinical laboratory assistant education

There are a few differences between a central laboratory technician and a clinical laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:

	Central Laboratory Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	New York University	New York University

Central laboratory technician vs clinical laboratory assistant demographics

Here are the differences between central laboratory technicians' and clinical laboratory assistants' demographics:

	Central Laboratory Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 12.1% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between central laboratory technician and clinical laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Central laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Ensure facility compliance with governmental (FDA and EPA) GLP, and GMP regulations.
Prepare GMP media and buffer solutions for research labs.
Maintain and operate laboratory equipment and commendably troubleshoot and resolve an assortment of laboratory testing analyzers and perform diverse chemical tests.
Operate various testing equipment such as centrifuges and semi and fully automate liquid transfer instruments.

Clinical laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Achieve PHLEBOTOMY duties utilizing proper infection control techniques and perform a variety of laboratory tests.
Process specimen, recollect and deliver to chemistry, microbiology, molecular or hematology departments for testing.
Receive specimens for microbiology, histology, cytology, anatomic pathology and hematology tests/procedures, checks for proper identification and requisition.
Operate EKG and other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
Transfer of samples from racks to centrifuges and decant station.
Administer EKG's, clean wounds, draw labs, and apply dressings.

Central laboratory technician vs clinical laboratory assistant skills

Common central laboratory technician skills

Laboratory Equipment, 33%
GMP, 26%
Analytical Equipment, 25%
Test Order, 7%
R, 5%
Blood Products, 3%

Common clinical laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 17%
Phlebotomy, 14%
Clinical Lab, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Specimen Collection, 4%
Patient Care, 4%

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Central Laboratory Technician
Central Laboratory Technician vs Clinical Laboratory Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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