Medical laboratory technologists are one of the least happy careers in the United States.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, medical laboratory technologists rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 16% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy medical laboratory technologists are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Podiatrist
2.9
$141k
Cardiovascular technologist
2.9
$59k
Orthotist
2.9
$71k
Clinical research coordinator
2.8
$54k
Licensed practical nurse
2.8
$41k
Medical laboratory technologist
2.8
$65k
Pharmacy technician
2.8
$18k
Medical administrative assistant
2.8
$19k
Neurodiagnostic technologist
2.8
$63k
Clinical nurse specialist
2.8
$83k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are medical laboratory technologists happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do medical laboratory technologists find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as medical laboratory technologists?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are medical laboratory technologist’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are medical laboratory technologists making the best use of their abilities?

Are medical laboratory technologists happy with their salary?

Medical laboratory technologists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Medical laboratory technologists tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked medical laboratory technologists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

405 medical laboratory technologists

5 Star
10%

10% of medical laboratory technologists rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of medical laboratory technologists rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of medical laboratory technologists rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of medical laboratory technologists rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
16%

16% of medical laboratory technologists rated their compensation 1 stars

Do medical laboratory technologists find their jobs meaningful?

On average, medical laboratory technologists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most medical laboratory technologists aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked medical laboratory technologists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

406 medical laboratory technologists

5 Star
12%

12% of medical laboratory technologists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
21%

21% of medical laboratory technologists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
29%

29% of medical laboratory technologists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of medical laboratory technologists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
18%

18% of medical laboratory technologists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as medical laboratory technologists?

Medical laboratory technologists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of medical laboratory technologists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked medical laboratory technologists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.7 out of 5 stars

433 medical laboratory technologists

5 Star
27%

27% of medical laboratory technologists rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
34%

34% of medical laboratory technologists rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of medical laboratory technologists rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
9%

9% of medical laboratory technologists rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of medical laboratory technologists rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a medical laboratory technologist’s work environment?

As a whole, medical laboratory technologists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.3/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

We asked medical laboratory technologists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.3 out of 5 stars

436 medical laboratory technologists

5 Star
18%

18% of medical laboratory technologists rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of medical laboratory technologists rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of medical laboratory technologists rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of medical laboratory technologists rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of medical laboratory technologists rated their work environment 1 stars

Are medical laboratory technologists making the best use of their abilities?

Former medical laboratory technologists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Medical laboratory technologists tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

We asked medical laboratory technologists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

434 medical laboratory technologists

5 Star
14%

14% of medical laboratory technologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
20%

20% of medical laboratory technologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of medical laboratory technologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of medical laboratory technologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of medical laboratory technologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars