Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between molecular laboratory technologists and clinical laboratory scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a molecular laboratory technologist and a clinical laboratory scientist. Additionally, a clinical laboratory scientist has an average salary of $67,900, which is higher than the $51,239 average annual salary of a molecular laboratory technologist.
The top three skills for a molecular laboratory technologist include next-generation sequencing, clinical laboratory and molecular biology. The most important skills for a clinical laboratory scientist are patients, test results, and microbiology.
| Molecular Laboratory Technologist | Clinical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $51,239 | $67,900 |
| Hourly rate | $24.63 | $32.64 |
| Growth rate | - | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 86,280 | 133,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A molecular laboratory technologist performs a number of duties to analyze samples in a laboratory setting. Their duties in this position are to collect samples for research, test specimens with a variety of equipment, and study how clinical drugs affect the samples. They are also responsible for maintaining data analysis records, troubleshooting issues, and preparing lab equipment. This position requires advanced education training in molecular biology.
A Clinical Laboratory Scientist is responsible for performing laboratory tests that doctors count on to correctly diagnose and treat patients. They examine body fluids, tissues, and cells, identify infective microorganisms, and analyze the chemical constituents of body fluids.
Molecular laboratory technologists and clinical laboratory scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Molecular Laboratory Technologist | Clinical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Average salary | $51,239 | $67,900 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $69,000 | Between $46,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Westpac |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a molecular laboratory technologist and a clinical laboratory scientist in terms of educational background:
| Molecular Laboratory Technologist | Clinical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Biology | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between molecular laboratory technologists' and clinical laboratory scientists' demographics:
| Molecular Laboratory Technologist | Clinical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% | Male, 34.8% Female, 65.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 14.1% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 15.4% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |