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The differences between senior medical technologists and medical 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 senior medical technologist and a medical laboratory scientist. Additionally, a senior medical technologist has an average salary of $60,849, which is higher than the $54,377 average annual salary of a medical laboratory scientist.
The top three skills for a senior medical technologist include customer service, blood pressure and OSHA. The most important skills for a medical laboratory scientist are patients, ASCP, and clinical laboratory.
| Senior Medical Technologist | Medical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Yearly salary | $60,849 | $54,377 |
| Hourly rate | $29.25 | $26.14 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 113,217 | 121,913 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
As a medical laboratory scientist, you will be responsible for analyzing various types of body specimens, including blood, tissue, and urine. You will conduct scientific testing on samples and report the results to physicians. These results play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions or illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Your duties and responsibilities may include maintaining laboratory equipment such as microscopes and cell counters, tracking patient outcomes, and conducting differential cell counts. You are also expected to oversee the work of laboratory technicians.
Senior medical technologists and medical laboratory scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Technologist | Medical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Average salary | $60,849 | $54,377 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $84,000 | Between $41,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Reno, NV |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Baptist Health Care | Eli Lilly and Company |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior medical technologist and a medical laboratory scientist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Technologist | Medical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between senior medical technologists' and medical laboratory scientists' demographics:
| Senior Medical Technologist | Medical Laboratory Scientist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4% | Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 12.7% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |