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The differences between histologists and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a histologist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $59,183 average annual salary of a histologist.
The top three skills for a histologist include ASCP, patient care and immunohistochemistry. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.
| Histologist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Yearly salary | $59,183 | $145,718 |
| Hourly rate | $28.45 | $70.06 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 1,463 | 57,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Another name for a his/her tologist is his/her tology technician, or his/her totechnician. They are health care workers who work in a medical laboratory. They are trained specifically to prepare tissue samples for a pathologist to analyze. Their duties include cutting tissue samples from organs and other tissues and staining them with specific dyes to help with microscopic analysis of the sample tissues. They may either work with humans, animals, or plant specimens. Their analysis helps with the diagnosis of disease abnormalities.
A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.
Histologists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Histologist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average salary | $59,183 | $145,718 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $101,000 | Between $59,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jackson, TN |
| Highest paying state | - | Tennessee |
| Best paying company | - | Saint Luke's Health System |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a histologist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:
| Histologist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between histologists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:
| Histologist | Medical Science Liaison | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.0% Female, 71.0% | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 22.2% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |