Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist technician

The differences between medical laboratory scientists and pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical laboratory scientist has an average salary of $54,377, which is higher than the $36,090 average annual salary of a pharmacist technician.

The top three skills for a medical laboratory scientist include patients, ASCP and clinical laboratory. The most important skills for a pharmacist technician are patients, math, and direct supervision.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist technician overview

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist Technician
Yearly salary	$54,377	$36,090
Hourly rate	$26.14	$17.35
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	121,913	73,800
Job satisfaction	-	1
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	44	38
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 technician do?

Pharmacist technicians assist pharmacists in their daily activities. They receive prescription medicine order requests of customers, validate the prescription, prepare the medicines, properly label medicine bottles, and hand them off to customers. They also answer customer inquiries and attend to customer concerns. Pharmacist technicians also manage the pharmacy's inventory and ensure that all records are up to date. They are also authorized to create purchase requisition requests for medicines that are running low and need to be refilled, but these requests should still be authorized by a doctor.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist technician salary

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

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist Technician
Average salary	$54,377	$36,090
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $71,000	Between $26,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Reno, NV	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Eli Lilly and Company	Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical laboratory scientist and pharmacist technician education

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

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	Pharmacy
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	-

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist technician demographics

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

	Medical Laboratory Scientist	Pharmacist Technician
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3%	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	5%

Differences between medical laboratory scientist and pharmacist technician 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 technician example responsibilities.

Manage the OPTIFILL (automation) operations and maintenance of equipment, including the PYXIS medication dispensing machine.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Manage inventory; process physician orders; prepare chemotherapy and intravenous medications; support departments in distribution and preparation of medications.
Consult with patients as an (CPhT) on their medical usages via written prescription by authorize medical personnel.
Compound TPN's (total peripheral nutrition), chemotherapy, iv admixture, antibiotics, and other pharmacy medications.
Record customer information into Rx computer system.

Medical laboratory scientist vs pharmacist technician skills

Common medical laboratory scientist skills

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

Common pharmacist technician skills

Patients, 32%
Math, 12%
Direct Supervision, 5%
HIPAA, 4%
Collective Bargaining, 4%
Telephone Calls, 4%

Medical Laboratory Scientist vs. similar jobs

Medical Laboratory Scientist related careers

Medical Laboratory Scientist related jobs

Medical Laboratory Scientist jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Laboratory Scientist
Medical Laboratory Scientist vs Pharmacist Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs