A medical laboratory is a very important establishment. This is where patient samples go to get tested and where diseases are identified. Therefore, it is very important that the laboratory stays organized. Usually it is the job of the laboratory clerk to make sure that the lab stays in tip-top shape and that no results go back to the wrong office.
The laboratory clerk usually takes care of all of the administrative duties in a laboratory. This can include keeping track of samples, processing test results, and inputting data. Often, the laboratory clerk is the liaison between the lab and doctors' offices. They receive samples from doctors, organize them in order of priority, and communicate results back to clinics.
Although some laboratory clerks have a bachelor's degree, most do not. The skills needed to succeed in this position, such as organizational skills, data entry, and basic knowledge of phlebotomy, are usually learned on the job.
Laboratory Clerk Overview
Working as a Laboratory Clerk
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a laboratory clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.52 an hour? That's $30,203 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -4% and produce -110,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Laboratory Clerk Do
There are certain skills that many laboratory clerks have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, organizational skills and detail oriented.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a laboratory clerk, we found that a lot of resumes listed 13.3% of laboratory clerks included phlebotomy, while 9.0% of resumes included medical records, and 7.9% of resumes included specimen collection. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the laboratory clerk job title. But what industry to start with? Most laboratory clerks actually find jobs in the health care and retail industries.
How To Become a Laboratory Clerk
If you're interested in becoming a laboratory clerk, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 32.7% of laboratory clerks have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.0% of laboratory clerks have master's degrees. Even though some laboratory clerks have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a laboratory clerk. When we researched the most common majors for a laboratory clerk, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on laboratory clerk resumes include high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a laboratory clerk. In fact, many laboratory clerk jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many laboratory clerks also have previous career experience in roles such as customer service representative or administrative assistant.
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Laboratory Clerk Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of medical assistant you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title operations manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Laboratory Clerk
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Washington Hospital Healthcare System Lab Clerk/Phlebotomist-Clinical Laboratory-Per Diem-Variable Shifts Lab Clerk/Phlebotomist-Clinical Laboratory-Per Diem-Variable Shifts | Washington Hospital Healthcare System Washington Hospital Healthcare System | 12/16/2020 12/16/2020 | $71,04112/16/2020 $71,041 |
Washington Hospital Healthcare System Clerk/Phlebotomist-Laboratory-, Nights Variable Clerk/Phlebotomist-Laboratory-, Nights Variable | Washington Hospital Healthcare System Washington Hospital Healthcare System | 08/20/2020 08/20/2020 | $65,82408/20/2020 $65,824 |
Integramed America Fertility Centers of Illinois: Lab Clerk Fertility Centers of Illinois: Lab Clerk | Integramed America Integramed America | 08/05/2020 08/05/2020 | $31,30508/05/2020 $31,305 |
Spherion Medical Lab Clerk Medical Lab Clerk | Spherion Spherion | 08/05/2020 08/05/2020 | $37,56608/05/2020 $37,566 |
Aerotek Laboratory Clerk Laboratory Clerk | Aerotek Aerotek | 06/27/2019 06/27/2019 | $33,39206/27/2019 $33,392 |
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Top Colleges for Laboratory Clerks
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Public
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
4. Maria College of Albany
Albany, NY • Private
5. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
6. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
7. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
8. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Public
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
10. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Public
Top Skills For a Laboratory Clerk
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.3% of laboratory clerks listed phlebotomy on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and organizational skills are important as well.
- Phlebotomy, 13.3%
- Medical Records, 9.0%
- Specimen Collection, 7.9%
- Computer System, 5.7%
- Data Entry, 5.6%
- Other Skills, 58.5% See All Laboratory Clerk Skills