Having a lab technician certification is not mandated by the law but is a common requirement in various individual states. The certificate is really simple to obtain so this should not be a problem in case you are really planning to train as a technician. This is a particular career that is steadily in demand and that is not likely to change in the coming years.
Common working conditions
The Federal Government does not impose any minimum level of education needed for technicians. Technologists on the other hand are a different case. They need to have at least an associate degree level that is under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act. If you are planning to become a technologist later on, you need to consider this particular requirement. Qualifying as a technician on the other hand is not that strict. Other than the lab technician certification, your other concern should include the particular work environment in this job. You also need to determine if you are highly suitable and ideal for the job. Remember that you need to perform your work standing for long hours and you also need to ensure that you wear protective lab equipment such as masks and gloves for long periods of time.
Physical qualifications needed for the job
The state may have mandatory requirement for this job but you also need to consider some important physical qualification needed. First off, you will need to have good eyesight as you’ll be spending a lot of time examining minute and small details. You need to be particular with details because you’ll be devoted in testing small samples of blood and tissues for diagnostic purposes. Being short or long-sighted is not really a problem because this can be easily corrected. What you need to be concerned about is if you are a color blind person because this cannot be corrected using lenses.
Getting an education degree and formal training
Getting your lab technician certification may be a lot easier if you have the recommended education degree and level of training. Education and training do not need to be consuming much of your time. In fact, technicians come from varied educational backgrounds so it will be really an issue of finding the perfect solution for your conditions. If you are planning to become a technologist in the future, having formal education early on will be a great help. If you have a lot of free time to spare before starting your career, it will save you a lot of time and effort if you finish a full bachelor’s degree early on. Obtaining this can open up a lot of career doors for you.
Having an associate degree is the minimum requirement to be technician. There are also a lot of technician who were able to have their medical lab technician certification after having their training in a hospital. Training in a hospital is an easy way to get certification without having to spend long years of study. However, because of the increasing complexity of the job’s nature, you may still need to finish a higher degree of technical training later on. A lot of technicians had their hospital training while also working there.
Opening more career doors
Your lab technician certification can open a lot of career opportunities for you. If you really want to become a technologist in the future, you can surely pursue further studies. The government may impose technologists to finish at least an associate degree but in reality, a lot of working technologists actually finished a bachelor’s degree in medical science such as chemistry, biology or mathematics. Although you are already content being a technician, there are really a lot of career opportunities available around for you to carefully choose your employer. This is the most important advantage of having your lab technician certification.