Looking into be coming a Medical Technologist

I am looking into becoming a Medical Technologist and I wanted to know if I wanted to become a toxicologist would this profession be a good start for me???
Thank you

I am a general medical technolgist and I like my job. However if is a GROSSLY underappreciated and overlooked field compared to other jobs such as nursing who have less education. Automated technolgy seems to be moving in the direction of doing away with educated techs and making due with less trained workers to do this very serious step in clinical diagnosis. Its very sad, but healthcare comes down to getting results as cheap and fast as possible. So my answer to you is to be prepared to work crappy hours at less than desirable wages for administrators who will never apprciate you.

Terri could not have said it better. She failed to mention that not only do administrators underappreciate you, everyone else in the health industry does as well.

Don't do it.

Oh and Missy, perhaps I was a little unfair. Your question was, "Would this be a good start?" Yes, becoming a Medical Technologist is a great start to becoming any sort of physician or medical research specialist.

Whatever you do, use it as a stepping stone.

Missy, don't let the negative comments distract you from being what you want to be. I've been a med tech in the healthcare field 32 years and many, many healthcare workers are underappreciated. Yes, you work shifts, weekends, holidays, but in the end, do what you love and do not look for "appreciation" to keep you going. In days when people are having difficulty finding jobs, there will always be a job for you as a medical technologist. You can also go into research, industry, and computers. I have never regretted a day that I was an educated lab professional who helped those I never knew. Good luck!

While I can echo the sentiments of everyone else when it comes to the underappreciation aspect, I can also say that the medical technology background can be a good springboard to many other career areas. I worked as a tech for 10 years, then transitioned into the information systems/ information technology area. Other fields that I see techs transition to include field service reps for lab instrumentation, sales and a few that went into project management. Even though I work in the IT area now, and have for some time, I still consider my med tech background to be my strength.

good luck!

I have to agree with the others. Our field is very underpaid and underappreciated. It is however a good first step. Unfortunately, the administrative people in our field have not fought for our professionalism or wages. If you plan to stay in the hospital arena, there is little you can do to move up and it is very political within the hospital environment. With the advent of automation, we all fear our jobs will be replaced by robots and there is less stability than ever before, even with the shortage of medical technologists. In the hospital where I work, several of us have stayed in the same position for 20+ years with an every decreasing wage as compared to the cost of living. I would carefully evaluate this decision.

Sadly the negative comments are true....
As far as the question, yes you can become a med tech and transition from that into becoming a toxicologist....It would help if you could find a mentor...a boss who is caring you could work for who would train you....sadly there are very few of those .....as the comments about administrators shows....

karen in Birmingham, Alabama said: While I can echo the sentiments of everyone else when it comes to the underappreciation aspect, I can also say that the medical technology background can be a good springboard to many other career areas. I worked as a tech for 10 years, then transitioned into the information systems/ information technology area. Other fields that I see techs transition to include field service reps for lab instrumentation, sales and a few that went into project management. Even though I work in the IT area now, and have for some time, I still consider my med tech background to be my strength.

good luck!

what exactly do you do? I have a friend who's getting her Masters in Bioinformatics and she is a tech but don't have a clue where she's going to work nor if she'd still be in the healthcare setting.

Comment: I understand directing this person to a 1-year certification because she already has a degree (4-year). I also understand why a MT is more respected than MLT (ie more education). However my question would be isn't there some validity to people becoming MLT? If no one hires MLTs why do they have these programs. Why wouldn't they garner respect. Of course their knowledge base is less than MT but they still do go to school for 2 years and that shows some dedication. It's not like they are uneducated in the field. I guess I wonder what is wrong with having a entry-level into the field to make it more attainable to more people.

Should the 2-year program be discouraged because it's not as respected?

I just like to point out there are people who DON't have bachelors degrees to begin with so the 1-year certification would not work for them unless they wanted to pursue a 4-years degree. And some need to get working ASAP so MLT would be a good way for them to go in my opinion.

I myself was considering a career change from Medical transcription to MLT. Hoping to get a job and then continue on to MT in several years... Wouldn't MLT be the best approach for my situation? I have seem some MLT jobs in my area and not just MT.

Missy in Newport News, Virginia said: I am looking into becoming a Medical Technologist and I wanted to know if I wanted to become a toxicologist would this profession be a good start for me???
Thank you

Yes. You can actually be a toxicologist as a med tech. In large hospitals they do have CLSs that just to toxicology which includes chromatography, drug testing, etc. I talked to one of these persons and they said all they did was take a few extra courses specializing in toxicology take some kind of test to be certified as that.

CLS48 in California said: Yes. You can actually be a toxicologist as a med tech. In large hospitals they do have CLSs that just to toxicology which includes chromatography, drug testing, etc. I talked to one of these persons and they said all they did was take a few extra courses specializing in toxicology take some kind of test to be certified as that.

You seem to have so much insight on this field. How long have you been a CLS? What courses should one take and where? Would this be the same as specializing in Clinical Chemistry?

ej in Trenton, Michigan said: Comment: I understand directing this person to a 1-year certification because she already has a degree (4-year). I also understand why a MT is more respected than MLT (ie more education). However my question would be isn't there some validity to people becoming MLT? If no one hires MLTs why do they have these programs. Why wouldn't they garner respect. Of course their knowledge base is less than MT but they still do go to school for 2 years and that shows some dedication. It's not like they are uneducated in the field. I guess I wonder what is wrong with having a entry-level into the field to make it more attainable to more people.

Should the 2-year program be discouraged because it's not as respected?

I just like to point out there are people who DON't have bachelors degrees to begin with so the 1-year certification would not work for them unless they wanted to pursue a 4-years degree. And some need to get working ASAP so MLT would be a good way for them to go in my opinion.

I myself was considering a career change from Medical transcription to MLT. Hoping to get a job and then continue on to MT in several years... Wouldn't MLT be the best approach for my situation? I have seem some MLT jobs in my area and not just MT.

I think that MLT is fine as a stepping stone but not really worth it if all you want to do is have a 2 year degree as being an RN is much more economically lucrative. One thing to consider though is how you will accomplish your MT. I'm definitely not positive but I think you can get a bachelor degree and if you've worked 5 years in that department you can take the ASCP test for your MT. Or your can get your MT online (an MLT tech did that here through the University of Cincinnati) but you will still have to do your clinical rotation somewhere. So make sure your lab is willing (and/or capable) to help you meet the requirements for your clinical rotation.

In relation to the idea of respecting an MLT:

At least at our lab we definitely don't discriminate or look down upon MLTs as there are a variety (very experienced to brand new graduates) who work here in the lab. Just know that you are probably going to be doing the same amount of work as an MT so it might seem a bit unfair that there will be a definite pay discrepancy. Also if you wanted to go into management you probably would need your MT. But in an every day situation you really can't tell who is an MT or an MLT. But this may just pertain to my lab and there could be differences (like management opportunities) at other places.

What is the salary difference between a 2-year MLT and 4-year MT then?

RN is more economically lucrative I realize, but I am not interested in becoming an RN. I was in an RN program previously and it was not for me.

about $5 an hour.

hi
i just graduated with MT degree and am looking to get my M.S in forensic toxicology. making 23/hr now how much more should i expect to make with this upgrade? basically, how much do forensic toxicologist or toxicologist make in gerneral?

I really appreciate this website posting. It shows me that other people are in similar situations as me.

I wanted to add my situation as a question for more opinions. I have my BS in biology (didn't see many job opportunities there) and now I am in a CLS program working on the post-bacc certifications (now hematology or blood bank). Which one do you recommend? These certifications kind of scare me because when I do the job searches for them, the posting say hiring for one particular department but you need to be certified in all areas to be hired (generalist). I wanted this job to be a stepping stone into something else (as stated above), but I am in my 7th year of schooling. It just doesn't feel worth as much to me with the time and money that I'm investing (especially already having a BS in biology).

It's an ok stepping stone but if you meet someone and get married you could find yourself stuck in this field and you don't want that..
That's why it's better to try another profession unless you are sure you will be able to go on and get your MS/PHD or go into a better paying/more appreciated field later on...

If you have your BS MT ASCP, you can work anywhere.
Job is not bad, been working at it for 10 years, always a steady paycheck.
They have to keep standards high in order to keep this anciallary field running and attracting more students. They lower the standards noone will want to get into the field.
There are plenty of students that want to get into health care, but they want to get into a career that pays well, so that is why this is always the last option.
If they atleast start paying a BSMT what a RN makes more of those students that wants to get into pharmacy or physical therapy might consider this field if they didnt get into their primary career. But most of those students that did not get into pharmacy get into nursing because that field makes more money and opens more doors.

You can work in a toxicology lab as a non-registered tech. It requires a BS degree, but not the MT training or certification. The pay isn't as high as a MT would get, but you might try that to see if you really enjoy it (very repetitive, lots of paperwork) or as a way to support yourself while in school.