Medical laboratory technician vs senior laboratory technician

The differences between medical laboratory technicians and senior 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 senior laboratory technician. Additionally, a medical laboratory technician has an average salary of $51,780, which is higher than the $48,530 average annual salary of a senior laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a medical laboratory technician include medical laboratory, patients and ASCP. The most important skills for a senior laboratory technician are lab equipment, patients, and research projects.

Medical laboratory technician vs senior laboratory technician overview

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Senior Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$51,780	$48,530
Hourly rate	$24.89	$23.33
Growth rate	16%	9%
Number of jobs	88,721	63,876
Job satisfaction	3.33	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
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 senior laboratory technician do?

A Senior Laboratory Technician is responsible for supervising and coordinating scientific investigations and experiments. They supervise staff, provide technical support, and construct, maintain, and operate standard laboratory equipment.

Medical laboratory technician vs senior laboratory technician salary

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$51,780	$48,530
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $71,000	Between $34,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	California
Best paying company	Favorite Healthcare Staffing	Genentech
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between medical laboratory technician and senior laboratory technician education

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Senior Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	Biology
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	New York University

Medical laboratory technician vs senior laboratory technician demographics

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

	Medical Laboratory Technician	Senior Laboratory Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%	Male, 58.6% Female, 41.4%
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, 10.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between medical laboratory technician and senior 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.

Senior laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Lead aerobic, anaerobic and UV light testing, chemical residue testing and centrifuge to separate chemicals from water.
Operate a binary distillation column using LabView to separate a mixture of methanol and water.
Provide and sign certificate of analyses for wet chemistry and microbiology.
Perform CFU-blast, CFU-C, CFU-D, CFU-S assays.
Create raw material library on FTIR.
Perform manual titration, including testing bacteria and other water tests.

Medical laboratory technician vs senior laboratory technician skills

Common medical laboratory technician skills

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

Common senior laboratory technician skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
Patients, 8%
Research Projects, 5%
Cell Culture, 4%
Safety Procedures, 4%
Molecular Biology, 4%

Medical Laboratory Technician vs. similar jobs

Medical Laboratory Technician related careers

Medical Laboratory Technician related jobs

Medical Laboratory Technician jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Laboratory Technician
Medical Laboratory Technician vs Senior Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs