Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
Also called: Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS), Clinical Laboratory Technologist, Medical Lab Technologist (Medical Laboratory Technologist), Medical Technologist (MT)Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May train or supervise staff.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 15 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.7% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 1.8% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 85% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $49,440 | $38,750 to $64,330 | 7,250 |
| Alaska | $60,950 | $48,550 to $82,610 | 680 |
| Arizona | $62,530 | $48,080 to $80,360 | 6,440 |
| Arkansas | $49,670 | $39,720 to $63,520 | 3,180 |
| California | $76,010 | $56,700 to $89,480 | 29,210 |
| Colorado | $70,050 | $52,930 to $87,780 | 5,000 |
| Connecticut | $65,310 | $50,900 to $98,260 | 3,670 |
| Delaware | $68,630 | $50,590 to $83,550 | 690 |
| District of Columbia | $76,560 | $58,600 to $102,560 | 960 |
| Florida | $60,510 | $41,680 to $79,920 | 25,790 |
| Georgia | $62,180 | $47,230 to $83,460 | 11,540 |
| Guam | $45,130 | $31,220 to $55,730 | 90 |
| Hawaii | $66,020 | $52,750 to $83,820 | 1,090 |
| Idaho | $47,450 | $40,050 to $75,000 | 1,590 |
| Illinois | $71,950 | $53,820 to $82,880 | 10,330 |
| Indiana | $57,080 | $45,390 to $76,480 | 7,210 |
| Iowa | $54,260 | $43,210 to $65,810 | 3,240 |
| Kansas | $62,050 | $46,680 to $78,330 | 3,930 |
| Kentucky | $60,880 | $45,310 to $78,020 | 4,860 |
| Louisiana | $54,460 | $39,930 to $69,640 | 3,790 |
| Maine | $68,690 | $49,900 to $80,920 | 1,250 |
| Maryland | $63,690 | $47,830 to $84,500 | 6,200 |
| Massachusetts | $79,120 | $54,020 to $99,130 | 10,850 |
| Michigan | $61,260 | $41,630 to $79,400 | 10,000 |
| Minnesota | $74,440 | $61,430 to $80,920 | 7,190 |
| Mississippi | $50,640 | $40,160 to $64,610 | 3,070 |
| Missouri | $60,300 | $46,160 to $78,330 | 7,670 |
| Montana | $65,190 | $48,140 to $81,710 | 1,020 |
| Nebraska | $60,540 | $46,740 to $76,170 | 1,930 |
| Nevada | $57,320 | $47,190 to $81,470 | 2,040 |
| New Hampshire | $81,020 | $57,360 to $90,310 | 800 |
| New Jersey | $68,450 | $53,840 to $87,040 | 7,000 |
| New Mexico | $47,360 | $39,110 to $63,060 | 2,160 |
| New York | $97,280 | $65,890 to $120,900 | 16,460 |
| North Carolina | $60,650 | $47,300 to $77,700 | 13,710 |
| North Dakota | $62,680 | $48,260 to $77,370 | 1,370 |
| Ohio | $63,800 | $47,670 to $79,260 | 13,050 |
| Oklahoma | $53,300 | $40,000 to $68,740 | 4,250 |
| Oregon | $83,010 | $62,360 to $102,950 | 2,660 |
| Pennsylvania | $51,680 | $44,130 to $75,770 | 13,020 |
| Puerto Rico | $37,790 | $34,180 to $45,010 | 3,390 |
| Rhode Island | $75,780 | $50,420 to $83,490 | 1,060 |
| South Carolina | $55,280 | $44,140 to $72,750 | 4,380 |
| South Dakota | $60,890 | $47,140 to $75,700 | 1,280 |
| Tennessee | $62,070 | $46,860 to $78,720 | 8,410 |
| Texas | $59,290 | $44,990 to $77,750 | 29,530 |
| Utah | $49,090 | $39,250 to $66,140 | 6,370 |
| Vermont | $78,680 | $65,610 to $96,530 | 460 |
| Virgin Islands | $48,650 | $40,890 to $61,590 | 80 |
| Virginia | $61,050 | $46,430 to $79,700 | 7,150 |
| Washington | $72,760 | $56,160 to $97,590 | 7,430 |
| West Virginia | $61,810 | $46,190 to $75,340 | 1,800 |
| Wisconsin | $60,670 | $49,440 to $77,860 | 8,480 |
| Wyoming | $65,510 | $38,930 to $83,930 | 450 |
Nationally: $62,930. State figures are for BLS's “Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians”. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction. | Not published |
| AI + software | Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| Not much | Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components. | Not published |
| AI alone | Establish or monitor quality assurance programs or activities to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Develop, standardize, evaluate, or modify procedures, techniques, or tests used in the analysis of specimens or in medical laboratory experiments. | Not published |
| Not much | Select and prepare specimens and media for cell cultures, using aseptic technique and knowledge of medium components and cell requirements. | Not published |
| Not much | Obtain, cut, stain, and mount biological material on slides for microscopic study and diagnosis, following standard laboratory procedures. | Not published |
| Not much | Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms. | Not published |
| Not much | Harvest cell cultures at optimum time, based on knowledge of cell cycle differences and culture conditions. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 15 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 15 tasks fall under 14 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #35 Process digital or online data
- #37 Determine operational methods or procedures
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze biological or chemical substances or related data | |||
| Prepare specimens or materials for testing | |||
| Collect environmental or biological samples | |||
| Maintain medical equipment or instruments | |||
| Process digital or online data | |||
| Determine operational methods or procedures | |||
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures |
Show all 14 activities
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Operate laboratory or field equipment | |||
| Prepare medical equipment or work areas for use | |||
| Clean medical equipment or facilities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer40%
- A document or report16%
- An analysis or summary13%
- Data or a spreadsheet7%
- A plan or strategy4%
How they worked with Claude
22% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for medical and clinical laboratory technologists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 187,464 moves out
- 1 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 5%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 3%
- 4 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 2%
- 5 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 2%
Where people moved in from
of 160,790 moves in
- 1 Operations Research Analysts Very high +11.9% 4%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
- 3 Medical Assistants Moderate +12.9% 3%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 3%
- 5 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
Combined from the 2010 occupations “Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists” and “Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians”, which BLS merged into yours. Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 2% some college
- 52% bachelor's
- 14% post-bachelor's certificate
- 32% not published
O*NET marks 32% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 27 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 2% less than high school
- 13% high school
- 17% some college
- 16% associate's
- 41% bachelor's
- 7% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 1% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 3,182 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
66.7% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 23.1% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 34.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/29-2011.00