Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist

The differences between medical laboratory scientists and pharmacists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist has an average salary of $118,968, which is higher than the $54,377 average annual salary of a medical laboratory scientist.

The top three skills for a medical laboratory scientist include patients, ASCP and clinical laboratory. The most important skills for a pharmacist are patients, customer service, and employee development.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist overview

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist
Yearly salary	$54,377	$118,968
Hourly rate	$26.14	$57.20
Growth rate	-	2%
Number of jobs	121,913	50,943
Job satisfaction	-	3.67
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	44	42
Years of experience	2	-

What does a medical laboratory scientist do?

As a medical laboratory scientist, you will be responsible for analyzing various types of body specimens, including blood, tissue, and urine. You will conduct scientific testing on samples and report the results to physicians. These results play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions or illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Your duties and responsibilities may include maintaining laboratory equipment such as microscopes and cell counters, tracking patient outcomes, and conducting differential cell counts. You are also expected to oversee the work of laboratory technicians.

What does a pharmacist do?

Pharmacists are medical experts who distribute prescribed medications and immunizations to individuals. They are responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines supplied to patients, which should be within the law and prescribing only what is suitable to the condition of the user and provide proper knowledge on how to take them and possible reactions or side effects that may occur. Pharmacists could work in all environments where medications are used, or medication therapy is appraised as part of patients' care plan but most commonly in hospitals, community-based setting, and health systems.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist salary

Medical laboratory scientists and pharmacists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist
Average salary	$54,377	$118,968
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $71,000	Between $93,000 And $151,000
Highest paying City	Reno, NV	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Eli Lilly and Company	Safeway
Best paying industry	Health Care	Retail

Differences between medical laboratory scientist and pharmacist education

There are a few differences between a medical laboratory scientist and a pharmacist in terms of educational background:

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	Pharmacy
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist demographics

Here are the differences between medical laboratory scientists' and pharmacists' demographics:

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist
Average age	44	42
Gender ratio	Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3%	Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 12.7% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.6% Asian, 20.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	8%	11%

Differences between medical laboratory scientist and pharmacist duties and responsibilities

Medical laboratory scientist example responsibilities.

Attain extensive phlebotomy experience with a challenging pediatric patient population.
Perform complex laboratory diagnostic tests as medical laboratory scientist in hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, urinalysis and blood bank.
Evaluate quality control within the laboratory using standard laboratory test and measurement controls while maintaining compliance with CLIA and OSHA.
Execute and analyze test in areas including, hematology, urinalysis, serology, bacteriology, chemistry and transfusion services.
Assist in Cerner LIS system implementation and resource as super user.
Experience in immunology, infectious disease testing, and therapeutic drug monitoring.

Pharmacist example responsibilities.

Perform diabetes interviews along with physician collaboration agreement to manage therapy and optimal goals.
Dose and manage all Vancomycin and Aminoglycoside antibiotics throughout the entire hospital including overseeing, evaluating, and ordering antibiotic labs.
Perform critical care and oncology medication therapy management reviews for all patients assign to both satellite pharmacies.
Assist with transition to new computer system pending start of permanent PIC.
Deliver approximately 20K prescriptions per day to patients through budgeting Dr. Andy Nguyen, Pharm.
Provide small-group formal educational presentations for cardiac rehabilitation patients.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist skills

Common medical laboratory scientist skills

Patients, 13%
ASCP, 11%
Clinical Laboratory, 10%
MLS, 8%
Proficiency Testing, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

Common pharmacist skills

Patients, 22%
Customer Service, 11%
Employee Development, 8%
Allergies, 6%
Patient Care, 6%
Drug Therapy, 5%

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Medical Laboratory Scientist vs Pharmacist

Updated January 8, 2025

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