Medical laboratory technician vs lead laboratory technician

The differences between medical laboratory technicians and lead laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a medical laboratory technician and a lead laboratory technician. Additionally, a lead laboratory technician has an average salary of $54,230, which is higher than the $51,780 average annual salary of a medical laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a medical laboratory technician include medical laboratory, patients and ASCP. The most important skills for a lead laboratory technician are patients, lab equipment, and customer service.

Medical laboratory technician vs lead laboratory technician overview

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Lead Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$51,780	$54,230
Hourly rate	$24.89	$26.07
Growth rate	16%	3%
Number of jobs	88,721	77,096
Job satisfaction	3.33	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	12	12

What does a medical laboratory technician do?

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.

What does a lead laboratory technician do?

A Lead Laboratory Technician coordinates the operations of a laboratory. They supervise the preparation of specimens for tests, collection of blood, examination of blood samples, and other duties performed by the technician team.

Medical laboratory technician vs lead laboratory technician salary

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Lead Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$51,780	$54,230
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $71,000	Between $33,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	Favorite Healthcare Staffing	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between medical laboratory technician and lead laboratory technician education

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Lead Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	Biology
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	New York University

Medical laboratory technician vs lead laboratory technician demographics

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Lead Laboratory Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical laboratory technician and lead laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Medical laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing office functions through strong knowledge of PACS, Fuji CR, and EMR systems.
Accomplish constant multitasking between phlebotomy, reception and lab on a daily basis while providing outstanding customer communication skills.
Conduct clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and specimen analysis in hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, serology and immunology.
Experience in the areas of chemistry, hematology, serology, urinalysis, coagulation and microbiology specimen preparation.
Serve as rotational general laboratory technician in urinalysis, serology, chemistry, hematology, coagulation, microbiology, and shipping.
Pass and receive ASCP MLT certification upon graduation.

Lead laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Set up, adjust, calibrate, clean, maintain, and troubleshoot laboratory instruments.
Assist with FDA and OSHA audits, coordinate the center for all audits and inspections.
Accession patient information, doctor information, and testing information accurately and promptly into the NovoPath LIS system.
Develop and execute IQ/OQ/PQ at manufacturing site.
Maintain, troubleshoot, verify and calibrate laboratory equipment.

Medical laboratory technician vs lead laboratory technician skills

Common medical laboratory technician skills

Medical Laboratory, 10%
Patients, 10%
ASCP, 9%
Clinical Laboratory, 8%
MLT, 6%
Patient Care, 4%

Common lead laboratory technician skills

Patients, 12%
Lab Equipment, 11%
Customer Service, 9%
Ongoing Maintenance, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Chemistry, 4%

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Medical Laboratory Technician
Medical Laboratory Technician vs Lead Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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