Career profile Clinical Laboratory Scientist

Table of Contents

• What does a Clinical Laboratory Scientist do?
• What is a typical salary for a Clinical Laboratory Scientist?
• What personality traits are common among Clinical Laboratory Scientists?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Clinical Laboratory Scientists need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Clinical Laboratory Scientist do?

Clinical Laboratory Scientists perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

In addition, Clinical Laboratory Scientists may train or supervise staff.

What kind of tasks does a Clinical Laboratory Scientist perform regularly?

Clinical Laboratory Scientists are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
• Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components.
• Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
• Collect and study blood samples to determine the number of cells, their morphology, or their blood group, blood type, or compatibility for transfusion purposes, using microscopic techniques.
• Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage.
• Establish or monitor quality assurance programs or activities to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results.
• Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction.
• Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
• Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
• Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms.
• Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing.
• Develop, standardize, evaluate, or modify procedures, techniques, or tests used in the analysis of specimens or in medical laboratory experiments.

The above responsibilities are specific to Clinical Laboratory Scientists. More generally, Clinical Laboratory Scientists are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Clinical Laboratory Scientist salary?

What personality traits are common among Clinical Laboratory Scientists?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist are usually higher in their Investigative, Realistic, and Conventional interests.

Clinical Laboratory Scientists typically have very strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Also, Clinical Laboratory Scientists typically have strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Lastly, Clinical Laboratory Scientists typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist tend to value Support, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Clinical Laboratory Scientists strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Clinical Laboratory Scientists moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Clinical Laboratory Scientists moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Clinical Laboratory Scientists must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Clinical Laboratory Scientists, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Clinical Laboratory Scientists need?

Many Clinical Laboratory Scientists will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Clinical Laboratory Scientists usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Clinical Laboratory Scientists

• 1.3% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 10.3% completed high school or secondary school
• 21.7% completed some college coursework
• 18.6% earned a Associate's degree
• 38.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 6.9% earned a Master's degree
• 3.3% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Clinical Laboratory Scientists

Important Abilities needed by Clinical Laboratory Scientists

Clinical Laboratory Scientists must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Clinical Laboratory Scientists need abilities such as written comprehension, near vision, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Clinical Laboratory Scientists, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Clinical Laboratory Scientists

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Clinical Laboratory Scientists frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and critical thinking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Clinical Laboratory Scientists, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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