The high tech equipment used to do laboratory work needs special training, and medical lab assistants are hired to help with this vital legwork. Aides do a wide variety of useful tasks within the lab and often use this position as a stepping stone to more serious medical research.
One of the main duties is preparing specimens of tissue and blood for testing and analysis. Assistants must have detailed knowledge of all aspects of medical lab work, which they usually learn in college. While an Associates degree in applied science can get someone into this profession, a Bachelors degree is preferable.
Up to date computer skills are needed as the medical lab assistant must enter the data from the tests into computer programs. Strong organisational, analytic and communication skills are what most employers look for. There is plenty of work in this growing sector in hospitals and pharmaceutical firms for a medical lab assistant.
The average salary for a lab aide is C
$35,000 per year, though that increases steadily with years of experience.