Medical technologists are responsible for examining and analyzing fluids and cells of the body. They look for the possible cause of disease, such as presence of parasites, bacteria, virus, and other microorganisms. They are also responsible for cross matching the blood for transfusions, analyzing the chemical contents of fluids and testing blood levels of certain drugs to determine a patient's response to a particular treatment. They are also responsible for analyzing the results after the examination.
Medical technologist work has become more technical and less hands-on due to the increasing use of computers. In their work environment, medical technologists are trained in infection control, and sterilization techniques.
Before you pursue a medical technologist career you need to obtain a bachelor's degree in life science or in medical technology. Then your next step would to begin your internship. Courses that are included in a medical technology program include statistics, mathematics, microbiology, biological sciences and chemistry. Some programs may also require courses in business, computers, or management.
Some States would require a medical technologist graduates to pass a licensure exam before he or she can apply for medical technologist jobs. The requirements for the licensure examination may vary from each State, so it is important to check the available information from boards of occupational licensing or from the State departments of health.
You can advance your medical technologist career to a managerial or supervisory position through additional education and work experience. You can speed your advancement by acquiring professional certification and by getting a graduate degree in education, management, chemistry, or biological sciences. You can become a director if you have a master's degree, combined with years of experience and proper training.
In 2008 alone, there were about 328,100 medical technologist jobs, half were found in hospitals, while others were employed in educational services, medical and diagnostic laboratories, and private offices of physicians
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According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), excellent job opportunities and rapid job growth of 14% are expected of the medical technologist career. Medical technologist employment will continue to grow as the need to perform laboratory tests continue to increase due to major.
According to BLS, in May 2008, medical technologists' medium annual wage was at $53,500. The salary of the middle 50% was between $44,560 and $63,420. The highest 10% received a salary of more than $74,680 while the lowest 10% received less than $36,180. The median hourly wage of medical technologists varies depending on the type of laboratory and various specialties.
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