If you’ve always wanted to have a career that lets you help people, and make the world at large a better place, then the medical sector is going to have an obvious allure. However, the careers that most people associate with medicine; doctors, nurses, etc., require many years of education and further training. However, even if you’re in a rush to get out of school and into work, it doesn’t mean that the medical sector is totally closed off to you. If you’ve ever thought about being a lab technician, here are some of the signs that this could be the perfect career choice for you…
You Love Science
From Pexels
Almost every medical lab technician who’s working today should have a strong background in chemistry and biology. Specifically, you’ll need to be able to demonstrate a strong knowledge of tissues and cells, as well as a keen understanding of chemical interactions and compositions. If you’ve always had a keen interest in these branches of science, or you’ve only just begun kindling a passion for it, then it’s a pretty strong sign that you’d enjoy a career as a medical lab technician. The best MLTs in the world have a constant fascination with the kind of organism that’s infected a patient, and ultimately the antibiotic which should be used to fight it.
You’re Okay with Repetition
One great quality in any medical lab technician is that they can get into a fixed routine, and are able to stay focussed and engaged even when they have to deal with repetitive tasks. To an outsider, the daily duties of a medical lab technician may seem redundant. However, a good one will know just how important the work they’re doing is, and will approach each individual test with the same level of precision and drive. When you’re working with patient samples, the work you do is going to have a fairly profound impact on an individual’s life, so obviously, you can’t approach it with the attitude of simply going through the motions. While the daily tasks themselves can be very repetitive, you should bear in mind that a lot of modern facilities have their medical technicians rotating between different duties in the lab. Still, an ability to remain focussed through repetitive tasks is certainly a good thing in a medical lab technician.
You Want a Stable Career
There are a lot of perks to working as a medical lab technician, and I’m not just talking about getting to wear sharp lab coats like these: http://www.dickiesmedical.com/category/33942/ . Aside from that, this kind of career offers great security and stability compared to many other careers. There’s always a need for businesses in the medical industry, and job positions for MLTs are only expected to rise in future decades. The population is growing, people are living longer, and more and more medical issues are coming to the surface as a result. In the future, experts say we’ll have a greater need for technicians in order to detect conditions like type 2 diabetes and various types of cancer in the elderly. Politically, we’re also seeing a big shift towards governments around the world trying to make healthcare more accessible to greater proportions of their populations. This is also expected to increase the need for MLTs over time. If you’re worried about finding a career that has great security for the foreseeable future, then becoming a medical lab technician will certainly put those fears to rest!
You Like Operating Behind the Scenes
From Pixabay
Not everyone wants a job where they regularly have to liaise with customers, clients, partners and so forth. If this sounds like you, that’s fine, as there are plenty of behind-the-scenes areas in the medical sector to choose from! You don’t have to be at a patient’s bedside interacting with them all day long in order to make a real difference. As a lab technician, you’ll be able to go to work each day knowing you’re having a huge, positive impact on many people’s lives, without the perceived downsides to a more frontline role. While lab professionals will need to be in contact with patients from time to time, it will be on a very limited scale. You may have to draw blood samples or conduct other tests at the bedside, or instruct patients on how they should be collecting a bodily fluid. Largely, however, you’ll be working in a slow-paced and highly organized work environment, and interacting mainly with professionals like yourself.
You’re Very Detail-Orientated
As I’m sure you know, not everyone’s that great at paying attention to the particulars in a given role. If you naturally put a lot of emphasis on thoroughness and accuracy, then this is one trait that’s going to be a big help in a career as an MLT. Technicians will regularly have to code, compile, and categorize their findings in order to support doctors in making a diagnosis. In a medical lab, missing out on even a minor detail can have potentially tragic consequences, as the work done there has a direct effect on patient’s treatments. Being able to take in every little detail, and apply it in your problem solving and communication, will be essential if you want to pursue a career as a medical lab technician.
You’re Raring to Enter the Workforce
Finally, another good trait for people who are considering becoming an MLT is a burning desire to enter the workforce and start making a difference. As I mentioned in my introduction, a lot of the more well-known healthcare careers are famous for the massive amount of education required for them. However, when you’re pursuing a career as a medical lab technician, you can be in the lab and running tests in well under two years. Of course, when you’re taking an associate degree program it all depends on the credits you receive and the courses you complete in each term. However, compared to many other medical-sector jobs, you can be sure you’ll be sure that you’ll spend less time in the classroom and more time in a lab!
