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The differences between medical laboratory technicians and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a medical laboratory technician, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical laboratory technician has an average salary of $51,780, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for a medical laboratory technician include medical laboratory, patients and ASCP. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Medical Laboratory Technician | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $51,780 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $24.89 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 16% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 88,721 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.33 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 44 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A medical laboratory technician is responsible for assisting medical health professionals in conducting laboratory tests to diagnose patients' conditions and provide treatments. Medical laboratory technicians ensure the sanitation of all the tools and equipment before conducting tests. They collect adequate blood samples and specimens, analyze fluid elements, utilize laboratory equipment safely, create reports of findings, and alert medical personnel and medical technologists of emergency conditions. A medical laboratory technician must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry disciplines and processes to perform sensitive tasks and release accurate medical results.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Medical laboratory technicians and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Laboratory Technician | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $51,780 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $71,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Favorite Healthcare Staffing | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Education |
There are a few differences between a medical laboratory technician and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Laboratory Technician | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science | Business |
| Most common college | University of Maryland - College Park | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between medical laboratory technicians' and assistants' demographics:
| Medical Laboratory Technician | Assistant | |
| Average age | 44 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |