Post job

Senior medical technologist vs laboratory coordinator

The differences between senior medical technologists and laboratory coordinators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior medical technologist and a laboratory coordinator. Additionally, a senior medical technologist has an average salary of $60,849, which is higher than the $52,690 average annual salary of a laboratory coordinator.

The top three skills for a senior medical technologist include customer service, blood pressure and OSHA. The most important skills for a laboratory coordinator are lab equipment, patients, and patient care.

Senior medical technologist vs laboratory coordinator overview

Senior Medical TechnologistLaboratory Coordinator
Yearly salary$60,849$52,690
Hourly rate$29.25$25.33
Growth rate-3%
Number of jobs113,21764,914
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4444
Years of experience22

What does a senior medical technologist do?

A senior medical technologist specializes in gathering and analyzing blood and bodily samples through a variety of laboratory experiments. They mostly work at hospitals and medical laboratories, working together with other laboratory professionals and physicians. Among their responsibilities include obtaining samples from patients, identifying cell structures and abnormalities, documenting every procedure and observation, and presenting detailed and summarized reports to physicians or patients promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as a senior medical technologist, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior medical technologists while implementing the facility's policies and regulations.

What does a laboratory coordinator do?

A laboratory coordinator is responsible for supporting laboratory examinations and experiments, collecting laboratory samples, and ensuring the efficiency and performance of laboratory tools and equipment. Laboratory coordinators maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the laboratory facility at all times to avoid contaminations and hazards that may affect laboratory results and accuracy of examinations. They also perform scientific processes under the supervision of a scientist or laboratory technicians and keep an organized report of findings in the database.

Senior medical technologist vs laboratory coordinator salary

Senior medical technologists and laboratory coordinators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Medical TechnologistLaboratory Coordinator
Average salary$60,849$52,690
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $84,000Between $38,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CityPalo Alto, CABoston, MA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaHawaii
Best paying companyBaptist Health CareAbbVie
Best paying industryHealth CarePharmaceutical

Differences between senior medical technologist and laboratory coordinator education

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

Senior Medical TechnologistLaboratory Coordinator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorMedical TechnicianBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior medical technologist vs laboratory coordinator demographics

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

Senior Medical TechnologistLaboratory Coordinator
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 38.6% Female, 61.4%Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior medical technologist and laboratory coordinator duties and responsibilities

Senior medical technologist example responsibilities.

  • Perform disease surveillance by collecting and managing food microbiology surveillance data.
  • Process hematology, urinalysis, and tissue processing testing on cancer and anemia patients
  • Perform database registry for samples, complete QC & QA procedures for all laboratory assays, blood components and storage.
  • Perform quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) on growth media and reagents in the laboratory.
  • Analyze human biological samples (hematology, coagulation, chemistry, and microbiology) for a satellite reference laboratory.
  • Maintain all OSHA documents and temperature logs.
  • Show more

Laboratory coordinator example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team to decide on an optimal LIS.
  • Manage curriculum development, authore and publish lab manuals in physiology and ecology.
  • Prepare and audit patient charts according to HIPAA compliance.
  • Reject patient specimen samples that do not meet CLIA requirements.
  • Maintain records and training for all CLIA waive testing for all practice employees.
  • Follow EPA and OSHA mandates to ensure the proper and safe disposal of hazardous samples and waste.
  • Show more

Senior medical technologist vs laboratory coordinator skills

Common senior medical technologist skills
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Blood Pressure, 9%
  • OSHA, 8%
  • Clinical Laboratory, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • ASCP, 5%
Common laboratory coordinator skills
  • Lab Equipment, 15%
  • Patients, 13%
  • Patient Care, 8%
  • Chemistry, 6%
  • Laboratory Safety, 3%
  • CLIA, 3%

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs