Discover the Best Places to Work for a Higher Medical Technologist Salary
A medical technologist salary averages at $49,700 or $25 per hour, with the middle range being between $41,680 and $58,560. The lowest ten percent of earners have a pay of less than $34,660 while the highest ten percent earn more than $69,260.
Medical technologist salary according to industry
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical technologists receive the highest salaries from manufacturers of laboratory equipment which they need tested by professional medical technologists. In this setting a person is paid an average wage of $69,280. A medical technologist salary is also high when working for the government and in speciality hospitals. This is followed by general medical and surgical hospitals and by medical and diagnostic laboratories. For those working in doctors’ offices and in universities, the pay is slightly less.
Medical technologist salary according to state
A medical technologist salary also varies by state and where you work within that state. Typically those working in metropolitan cities in the Pacific and Northeast receive the highest wages while the South and Midwest tend to be lower. The top-paying state is California with an annual average salary of $70,760 and the highest earners making $96,792. In Santa Barbara, San Jose, Chico, Oakland and Salinas medical technologists earn between $36 and $42 per hour on average. Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nevada and Alaska are among the states which pay the highest medical technologist salaries.
How to increase your medical technologist salary
You can increase your medical technologist salary by obtaining a baccalaureate level of degree and by continuing your education, for example, by completing medical technologist training that would equip you to become a specialist in an area of laboratory science such as microbiology or haematology. Obtaining medical technologist certification also helps to give you a competitive edge when negotiating a higher pay. Of course, clocking up experience will also increase your salary.
The overall picture of a medical technologist salary
There has been growing unrest that a medical technologist pay is not as good as that of other healthcare professionals with the equivalent education, and is not keeping pace with the rising cost of inflation. According to a survey conducted in 2011, a quarter of medical technologists received no salary increase in 2010. However, there are other benefits which can increase the overall value of a medical technologist salary. These include sick leave, paid vacation, health and dental insurance, and retirement plans. Furthermore, this career offers job security since it continues to grow and has a high vacancy rate. There is also a wide range of settings in which a technologist can work as well as opportunities for career advancement.
More than just a salary
Medical lab technologists make a critical contribution to the health and wellness continuum and for many, the love of research and analysis with the opportunity to be at the brink of biomedical breakthrough and to help patients, are more of an incentive than just the medical technologist salary.
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