Medical laboratory technician vs medical technologist, generalist

The differences between medical laboratory technicians and medical technologists, generalist 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 a medical technologist, generalist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a medical technologist, generalist has an average salary of $58,246, 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 medical technologist, generalist are patients, clinical laboratory, and hematology.

Medical laboratory technician vs medical technologist, generalist overview

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Medical Technologist, Generalist
Yearly salary	$51,780	$58,246
Hourly rate	$24.89	$28.00
Growth rate	16%	7%
Number of jobs	88,721	121,721
Job satisfaction	3.33	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	12	2

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 medical technologist, generalist do?

A Medical Technologist Generalist performs day-to-day operations in the laboratory such as routine testing, quality control, and maintenance of instruments. They also develop, perform, and evaluate the accuracy of laboratory procedures.

Medical laboratory technician vs medical technologist, generalist salary

Medical laboratory technicians and medical technologists, generalist have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Medical Technologist, Generalist
Average salary	$51,780	$58,246
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $71,000	Between $42,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Favorite Healthcare Staffing	Soliant
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between medical laboratory technician and medical technologist, generalist education

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Medical Technologist, Generalist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	Medical Technician
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Medical laboratory technician vs medical technologist, generalist demographics

Here are the differences between medical laboratory technicians' and medical technologists, generalist' demographics:

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Medical Technologist, Generalist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%	Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%
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, 10.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical laboratory technician and medical technologist, generalist 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.

Medical technologist, generalist example responsibilities.

Manage data process flow to ensure employee timekeeping, attendance and payroll objectives are effectively and efficiently maintain.
Perform specimen processing and testing, phlebotomy, analyzer maintenance, proficiency testing etc.
Perform, instruct and delegate medical technologist generalist testing in chemistry, hematology, blood bank and microbiology.
Process and analyze specimens in all areas of the lab including chemistry, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis and microbiology.
Work with a team of Maya artists and composers to produce various commercials from different companies.
Input salary changes, update direct deposit information and withholding allowance certificates into the HRIS system.

Medical laboratory technician vs medical technologist, generalist skills

Common medical laboratory technician skills

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

Common medical technologist, generalist skills

Patients, 13%
Clinical Laboratory, 13%
Hematology, 9%
Patient Care, 7%
Microbiology, 6%
Blood Bank, 6%

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Medical Laboratory Technician vs Medical Technologist, Generalist

Updated January 8, 2025

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