Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists

Low Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (4)

Lower estimated automation risk

Medical and Health Services Managers
10% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
22.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits senior technologists using lab operations, staffing, compliance, quality metrics, budgets, and patient safety.

Clinical Data Managers
23% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
10.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies clinical results, variable definitions, validation checks, queries, audit trails, privacy, and reporting.

Clinical Research Coordinators
23% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
10.2 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses protocol discipline, specimen records, endpoints, source data, consent context, regulatory files, and study follow-up.

Regulatory Affairs Specialists
21% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better
12.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses regulated lab documentation, standards, submissions support, audit evidence, corrective actions, and safety rules.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

33% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 3 more strengths

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 239 votes

53% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 33% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians was $61,890 ($30 per hour).

The median annual wage for Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians was 25.0% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians' job openings is expected to rise 1.7% by 2034

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 343,040 people employed as 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians' within the United States.

This represents around 0.22% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 449 people are employed as 'Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians'.

People also viewed

Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians Pharmacists Lawyers Computer Programmers Accountants and Auditors

What people are saying (4)

P (Low)
11 Jul 2025 21:34
as a medical technologist, there is too many areas that require human subjectivity and interpretation for full robot assimilation
Aubrey Dubuc (Low)
18 May 2025 14:23
Though I'm sure a lot of the actual processes a medical lab scientist (tech) does can be made more efficient via robots or other technology, I believe it is necessary for a human to look at samples from a human rather than a robot. Humans can certainly make mistakes, but I don't think the medical field would trust robots to make a decision so detrimental to the life of a human being. In addition to that, a lot of the tech that these scientists use are incredibly complex. I guess we'll have to wait and see where things go.
Panax (No chance)
02 Feb 2020 01:30
No way. There must be a person that takes responsibility. Even if them just sitting there watching what the robots are doing.
Think about it
06 Apr 2023 22:13
The idea is that 1 person does the work of 10 people. You wouldn't bank on being the last CLS standing.
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. May train or supervise staff.

O*NET-SOC code: 29-2011.00