How To Become A Director Of Laboratory Services: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director of laboratory services and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A director of laboratory services usually works for a hospital and manages both the in-house laboratory and any outpatient services that a hospital does. They make sure that laboratory work is returned quickly and that the whole operation runs smoothly.

Directors of laboratory services need to have excellent leadership skills to supervise a whole team of phlebotomists and lab technicians. They also need to be highly organized to handle the administrative work that comes with running a laboratory, such as creating a budget, updating procedure manuals, and evaluating performances. They may develop new policies that will help the lab run more efficiently.

Before becoming a director of laboratory services, a person needs considerable laboratory experience themselves. First, most directors get a master's degree in laboratory science, health care administration, or a similar field. They also need many years of professional experience, for example, by working as laboratory technologists and supervisors. It takes many years to become a director of laboratory services, but it pays off with an average annual salary of $103,262.

ScoreDirector Of Laboratory ServicesUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $101,866

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.92%

Black or African American 10.76%

Hispanic or Latino 14.23%

Unknown 4.26%

White 62.12%

Gender

female 43.33%

male 56.67%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a director of laboratory services

Explore director of laboratory services education requirements

Most common director of laboratory services degrees

Bachelor's

54.6 %

Master's

20.2 %

Associate

13.4 %

Start to develop specific director of laboratory services skills

Skills	Percentages
Laboratory Services	12.44%
Patients	10.13%
Clinical Laboratory	9.25%
Patient Care	7.31%
CLIA	5.84%

Complete relevant director of laboratory services training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of laboratory services learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of laboratory services based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of laboratory services resumes.

Research director of laboratory services duties and responsibilities

Coordinate with LIS staff to manage access and maintenance of instrument interfaces and module enhancements.
Lead the laboratory through a difficult outsourcing of microbiology due to a lack of license staff.
Achieve administrative recognition for ACR accreditation of imaging departments.
Set up forensic DNA laboratory, train laboratory technicians in advance molecular techniques, and manage day-to-day activities of forensic DNA laboratory

Get director of laboratory services experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director of laboratory services. The most common roles before becoming a director of laboratory services include medical technologist, laboratory manager team lead and laboratory supervisor.

Prepare your director of laboratory services resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of laboratory services resume.

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