Cytologist vs pathologist

The differences between cytologists and pathologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pathologist has an average salary of $61,808, which is higher than the $53,483 average annual salary of a cytologist.

The top three skills for a cytologist include ASCP, QC and non-gyn. The most important skills for a pathologist are patients, patient care, and diagnosis.

Cytologist vs pathologist overview

	Cytologist	Pathologist
Yearly salary	$53,483	$61,808
Hourly rate	$25.71	$29.72
Growth rate	-	7%
Number of jobs	2,302	20,340
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	44	48
Years of experience	-	6

Cytologist vs pathologist salary

Cytologists and pathologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cytologist	Pathologist
Average salary	$53,483	$61,808
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $75,000	Between $25,000 And $148,000
Highest paying City	-	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	UT Medical Group, Inc.
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between cytologist and pathologist education

There are a few differences between a cytologist and a pathologist in terms of educational background:

	Cytologist	Pathologist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Biology	Physiology And Anatomy
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Cytologist vs pathologist demographics

Here are the differences between cytologists' and pathologists' demographics:

	Cytologist	Pathologist
Average age	44	48
Gender ratio	Male, 22.2% Female, 77.8%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 12.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 20.4% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	8%	13%

Differences between cytologist and pathologist duties and responsibilities

Cytologist example responsibilities.

Manage curriculum development, authore and publish lab manuals in physiology and ecology.
Stain process development in accordance with FDA regulation specific to milk.
Support laboratory quality control and safety initiatives and provide direct support to the microbiology, processing and emergency departments as needed.
Initiate and assign TIQ appropriately.

Pathologist example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage pathology, microbiology and biochemistry laboratory.
Provide consultations to care providers and interpret laboratory findings and diagnosis to patients.
Screen by ELISA & immunoblots.
Result in answering an FDA concern regarding device.
Participate in FDA submissions, plan 510k and PMA submissions.
Perform oncology markers and hormonal assays by Elisa and Delfia system.

Cytologist vs pathologist skills

Common cytologist skills

ASCP, 78%
QC, 12%
Non-Gyn, 4%
Laboratory Operations, 3%
Microbiology, 2%
Preliminary Diagnosis, 2%

Common pathologist skills

Patients, 31%
Patient Care, 11%
Diagnosis, 8%
GI, 4%
GYN, 4%
Frozen Sections, 3%

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Cytologist
Cytologist vs Pathologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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