How to hire a histotechnician

How to hire a histotechnician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step histotechnician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a histotechnician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new histotechnician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a histotechnician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The histotechnician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   A histotechnician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, histotechnicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents histotechnician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Histotechnician	Description	Hourly rate
   Histotechnician	Medical laboratory technologists (commonly known as medical laboratory scientists) and medical laboratory technicians collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances.	$14-38
   Clinical Laboratory Scientist	A Clinical Laboratory Scientist is responsible for performing laboratory tests that doctors count on to correctly diagnose and treat patients. They examine body fluids, tissues, and cells, identify infective microorganisms, and analyze the chemical constituents of body fluids.	$22-47
   Laboratory Coordinator	A laboratory coordinator is responsible for supporting laboratory examinations and experiments, collecting laboratory samples, and ensuring the efficiency and performance of laboratory tools and equipment. Laboratory coordinators maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the laboratory facility at all times to avoid contaminations and hazards that may affect laboratory results and accuracy of examinations... Show more	$18-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • ASCP
   • Tissue Specimens
   • CLIA
   • Microtome
   • Specimen Handling
   • Laboratory Equipment
   • IHC
   • Tissue Processing
   • Tissue Samples
   • Cytology
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Microscopic Examination
   • Sectioning
   • Immunohistochemistry

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Recognize & investigate instrument malfunctions, perform calibrations, manage QC, and maintain comprehensive written records of tests & procedures.
   • Perform special staining procedures on specimens with the use of Hematoxylin and Eosin stains.
   • General histology technician duties including embedding, cutting and routine, special, and IHC staining.
   • Perform routine histology, immunohistochemistry, and special stains by hand, per standard operating procedures.
   • Assimilate and report clinical pathology study data to support preclinical submissions to the FDA.
   • Support GMP with histology QC report.

   More histotechnician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the histotechnician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A histotechnician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a histotechnician in Idaho may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level histotechnician. Additionally, a histotechnician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average histotechnician salary

   $49,119yearly

   $23.61 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level histotechnician salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average histotechnician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$60,563	$29
   2	Massachusetts	$56,372	$27
   3	New Jersey	$53,357	$26
   4	Arizona	$52,013	$25
   5	Texas	$50,959	$25
   6	New York	$49,394	$24
   7	New Hampshire	$49,240	$24
   8	Nevada	$49,115	$24
   9	Pennsylvania	$48,057	$23
   10	Ohio	$46,774	$22
   11	Minnesota	$44,822	$22
   12	Wisconsin	$44,737	$22
   13	Washington	$43,091	$21
   14	Illinois	$40,892	$20
   15	New Mexico	$39,357	$19
   16	Indiana	$36,753	$18
   17	Kansas	$36,157	$17
   18	Georgia	$35,688	$17
   19	Alabama	$35,610	$17
   20	Missouri	$35,451	$17

   Average histotechnician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Stanford Health Care	$93,956	$45.17	16
   2	Seattle Cancer Care Alliance	$92,128	$44.29
   3	Brooks-TLC Hospital System	$81,829	$39.34
   4	Baystate Health	$77,400	$37.21	6
   5	Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$75,781	$36.43	11
   6	Heartland Home Health Inc.	$74,338	$35.74	7
   7	UofL Hospital	$72,558	$34.88	15
   8	Novant Health	$71,943	$34.59	37
   9	St. Joseph Healthcare	$70,113	$33.71
   10	Yale New Haven Health	$67,895	$32.64	31
   11	Catholic Medical Center	$66,240	$31.85	2
   12	Hackensack Meridian Health	$66,145	$31.80	6
   13	Prime Healthcare	$65,520	$31.50	63
   14	St. Joseph's Health	$64,662	$31.09
   15	Fred Hutch	$62,176	$29.89	7
   16	Cayuga Medical Center	$61,675	$29.65
   17	Dean Health Plan	$61,406	$29.52
   18	Loma Linda University Health	$60,837	$29.25	6
   19	Foundation Medicine	$58,518	$28.13	4
   20	PeaceHealth	$58,119	$27.94	46

4. Writing a histotechnician job description

   A histotechnician job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a histotechnician job description:

   Histotechnician job description example

   MOHS Histotechnician - Dermatology Administration - (210003O1) Description
   Facility Profile
   University of Florida Tampa General Physicians (USFTGP) is an affiliate of Tampa General Hospital and includes physicians specializing in cardiology, digestive disorders, endocrinology, family practice, hepatology (liver disease), internal medicine, organ transplantation, pediatrics and surgery. USFTG physicians provide care at convenient locations throughout the Tampa area.
   Job Summary
   Mohs Histology technician provides high-quality histologic specimens for microscopic evaluation and review by the Mohs Surgeon while also serving the needs of the Mohs laboratory.
   The following list provides examples of the most typical duties for positions in this job class.
   Individual positions may not include all the examples listed, nor does the list include all the work that may be assigned to positions in this job class.
   · Coordinate direct patient flow and assist physicians in direct patient care, i.e., performing surgical procedures and/or patient examinations. Assist in care of pathological specimens during procedure. Assist at physician side during procedure in a sterile field.
   · Prepares, embeds in optimal cutting temperature compound (OCT), cuts frozen sections, stains tissue and mounts slides in high intensity, time sensitive setting over prolonged periods of time without break, for immediate microscopic examination by surgeon.
   · Assessment and plan of appointment set up as it relates to treatment for patients, ensure pre-op of patients, explaining testing and follow-up, administration of testing, and coordinate patient care with surgeon, outside physician or referring office.
   
   Qualifications Educational Requirements: GED of High School Diploma.
   
   Experience Requirements: Prior experience processing tissue using MOHS technique preferred.
   
   Preferred Attributes: State of Florida Histotechnician License.
   
   Customer Service Performance Expectations: Courteous and helpful behavior towards patients, physicians, coworkers and external customers; professional and efficient verbal and written communications; accomplishing tasks through teamwork and initiative; and ensuring a timely and thorough response to complaints and!or critiques, and anticipating the needs of all you come in contact with. * Requirements reflect the minimum level necessary to be eligible for this position. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.
   Primary Location: TampaWork Locations: USF Health Morsani Center AHC 13330 USF Laurel Dr. Tampa 33612Job: Nursing (Technical/Clerical) Organization: USFTGPSchedule: Full-time Scheduled Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, FridayShift: Day JobJob Posting: Aug 29, 2022, 3:07:24 PM

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find histotechnicians for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your histotechnician job on Zippia to find and attract quality histotechnician candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with histotechnician candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new histotechnician

   Once you've decided on a perfect histotechnician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a histotechnician?