Becoming A Lab Technician - Is It A Good Idea?

A lab technician obviously works in a laboratory. But with the word 'technician' which is derived from the word technical, it can also mean that becoming a laboratory technician may not be easy as you think. Laboratory technicians must be equipped with technical knowledge in order to do their laboratory tasks. There are various kinds of jobs that laboratory technicians can do which denote that every technician can have different field of specialization.

The most familiar lab technicians are the medical laboratory technicians. Why do we say they are most familiar? Noticeably, you can find them in all hospitals, medical clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and other establishments where a lot of us usually go when we get sick and need to undergo medical analysis. Medical technicians usually do analysis for urine, blood, feces and other specimen that come from humans. The results are useful for doctors in order to detect diseases and discover organisms that affect their patients.

Who Are the Lab Technicians?

Laboratory technicians do different kinds of jobs. For example, the crime lab technicians handle, analyze and preserve human tissues, blood, hair, and materials that can serve as evidence for the crimes. Though both medical and crime laboratory technicians have commonalities in their educational and training background particularly in biology and chemistry, they do have different specializations so they do different kinds of jobs. Dental laboratory technicians, however, do provide assistance to the dentists and have the skills to create dental materials that are used in repairing dental problems. These technicians also have strong background on science but not actually much like what the crime lab and medical technicians study.

There are also the materials lab technicians which play crucial roles in our industries. Their duties involve inspecting materials samples, conducting laboratory test to test the quality of materials or products to know if these can meet quality standards. Of course these technicians don't have the background of the medical or the clinical technicians but they do have extensive education and training in the study of different kinds of metals, construction materials, electronics and the like. If you want to become a materials laboratory technician, what you need are professional certifications that would ensure you have complete background on materials analysis, training on testing materials, inspecting materials samples, conducting test and certifying materials accordingly.

The Requirements

Lab technicians also have different educational backgrounds. To become a materials laboratory technician, one should have a college degree that focus ideally in physics and sciences, or perhaps in engineering or any construction-related field. He must be accredited by institutions that are designed to provide intensive training for individuals who will test, analyze and certify materials so that these materials can meet international standards. The candidate should also be physically fit because his work will involve lifting materials for lab testing.

The main requirement to be a dental lab technician is usually a two year course in vocational school. A dentist can also become a dental lab technician if he wants to and dentistry can be from six to eight years in college depending on the country or school. For medical laboratory technicians usually they need two to four years in college and for advanced technician position, a Masters or a Doctorate degree is required.

Clinical laboratory technicians do have more complicated jobs because their work environment and hours of work relies on the employer's needs. Large hospitals, for example, do make use of their clinical lab technicians 24 hours a day so shifting here is continuous. They do work with various human tissues and fluids which are even infectious and dangerous to handle so special education and training are required before one can have his degree and become a clinical lab technician. After an individual graduated from high school, he can take a two year course in Medical Technology. Then after earning his degree he must undergo training as a medical laboratory technician. The medical technician can take his Masters degree or earn years of work as a med tech or gather up advanced training and certifications in order to reach the level of a clinical lab technician.

How Much A Lab Technician Earns?

This question is often asked by those who think that becoming a laboratory technician has a rewarding career. The answer, however, depends on the level of employment that the technician can get as well as the location of work and the status of the institutions the technician will be working for. Presumably for a hospital lab technician, one can earn an average amount of $40,000 a year. Laboratory technicians who are working for private clinics or offices are presumably earning less. For the location, a lab technician working in one of the largest hospitals in the metropolitan city will likely to get a higher wage than the lab technician who is working for a small clinic in a small town. Materials lab technicians are said to be earning the highest pay because they work for large industries but we still don't have the estimated earnings for this job yet.

With this information, hopefully you have gained knowledge on how one can become a laboratory technician and what advantages you can get in becoming a lab technician compared to other profession. One thing that you must not forget though, that if you choose to become a lab technician, it must be in your great interest to serve because apparently this is really a demanding and unglamorous job.

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