A Bachelor in clinical laboratory sciences equips you with a wide-range or academic as well as technical skills for a career in some of the most amazing job opportunities across varying industries.
Pretty much like Electrical engineers or molecular geneticists, clinical lab techs enjoy a large scope of opportunities with employment settings ranging from pharmaceutical and biotechnology to medical device companies, hospitals, educational institutions, and many more.
In this article, we will be looking at the top 10 jobs that you can do with a bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science.
Here’s The Top 10 List Of Best Jobs You Can Do As A Bachelor Of Science In Clinical Laboratory Science:
- Clinical research coordinator
- Medical laboratory scientist
- Toxicologist
- Clinical research associate
- Water Chemist
- Clinical research data specialist
- Forensic Scientist
- Pharmacologist
- Veterinary technician
- Marketing and communications expert (Medical-scientific writer)
Skills Required
In this section, we want to take a look at some of the skills that you will need in addition to your bachelor’s degree. As a clinical laboratory scientist, here are the 10 skills you need to have:
- Practical laboratory skills
Your whole work revolves around lab operations. As such, you will need to develop the suitable technical skills that will allow you to work in a laboratory efficiently. Such skills may be on knowing how to examine samples or how to conduct tests.
Also, this can’t be stressed enough, but you should know how to use laboratory equipment. Going for an internship program prior to applying for this job is definitely a winning strategy that will build that technical skill set.
- Strong computer skills
As a laboratory expert, most of your work, whether in early stages or upon completion, will be documented in computer systems. As such, it is important that you should familiarize yourself with how to work with them.
Some of the things you will be required to do here are recording data, tasking tests, comparing various types of data and, of course, keeping electronic records.
- Communication skills, both verbal and written
Excellent written as well as oral communication skills will professionalize your reports, as well as your presentation skills.
Also, you will often be communicating to patients and family members (that’s if you are working in a hospital setting) about tests and findings.
Alternatively, your communication skills will allow you to talk to colleagues and easily coordinate with them on findings or any other matters.
- Ability to do an independent research
Sometimes, you may find yourself having to work on some projects or sit in a lab by yourself. Consequently, you need to have the ability to work independently when required.
Working alone is mostly common in smaller healthcare centers, government research facilities or many more.
- Willingness to collaborate with work mates and team members
In larger settings, you will regularly be working in the same office with other lab technicians. In such kind of an organization, you will need to develop a teamwork spirit, which will allow you to share assigned projects.
On the other hand, larger organizations tend to distribute work into a specialization based on the particular work that you were hired to perform for the company. As such, a project may need to be passed on to several people, who will then perform several tasks, before they can make a final decision on the findings. Collaborating with teammates will make this process seamless.
- Time management skills
As a laboratory scientist, time-keeping is very crucial, especially since a lot of people, such as doctors, will be waiting on your work in order to give the appropriate medicine and treatments to patients.
If you are in the forensic science world, you are mostly working on a very short time basis, and you will receive calls a couple of times during your lab examinations. Alternatively, you are given tight deadlines that you must fulfill.
- Attention to detail
While it is always great to work fast and deliver within a particular given time, it is very crucial that you should focus a lot of your attention to the quality or your work as a clinical laboratory technician.
As such, you should take your time and make a careful analysis that should be properly planned out and if at all, outlined in a procedural manner, just to ensure that you don’t miss any step along the way.
- Problem-solving skills
Most of your work is based upon trying to find a solution to the problems that are brought to you. Having problem-solving skills generally means two things.
First of all, you are naturally curious about anything around you. What is more, you have to be the type of person that doesn’t give up on a problem until it has been solved.
- Willingness to learn
In this type of field, you have to be willing to learn more about what is going on in and around your profession.
Time and again, industry professionals introduce new medications, treatment methods as well as laboratory equipment for conducting various types of researches.
As a lab scientist, you have to constantly have the need to learn more. Expert publications are a good source for such information.
- Self-motivation and commitment
At times, you will find yourself working on the same data for a long period of time. In fact, some lab technicians indicated that they sometimes spend a month performing various tests on the same project.
To be able to perform in such a manner, you will need to be someone whom can motivate himself/herself. Then again, you will need to have a high level of commitment to your job, no matter how challenging it might be.
Detailed Guide To The Best Jobs You Can Do With A Bachelor Of Science In Clinical Laboratory Science.
Now that we looked at the skills that you need to have, let’s into the top 10 best jobs that you can do with your bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science degree.
- Clinical research coordinator
First on our list is a clinical research coordinator occupation. This is one of the most lucrative careers that on high demand in this day and age.
A clinical research coordinator (also called clinical study coordinator or research nurse) is mainly responsible for the day-to-day activities of a particular research study.
They are mostly found working in hospitals, independent medical practices, colleges and universities and medical schools. Occasionally, they may be found working in various companies and institutions on a contract type of job.
Clinical research coordinators are required to give care to patients that are participating to the various studies (if the study involves test subjects). In this case, they are also required to treat the patients.
In their work setting, clinical research coordinators may find themselves working alongside the study’s principal investigators and needing to recruit study subjects.
- Medical laboratory scientist
A medical laboratory scientist (also known as a medical laboratory technologist) is a healthcare worker that is directly involved in activities such as preparing research specimens and subjecting such specimen under analysis.
Generally, medical laboratory scientists are employed in research labs (hospital-based institutions). They are also found in pharmaceutical companies, or other research institutions.
In most cases, medical laboratory technicians have an associate degree and they upgrade to a medical laboratory scientist undergraduate degree in order to develop expertise in the field.
- Toxicologist
Toxicologists are specialists that commonly focus on the effects of drugs on various biological systems. Also, they are said to look at the effects of other substances, whether they are natural or manufactured.
On a normal day, they work on developing different methodologies that allow them to recognize and determine harmful effects of substances.
Toxicologists also develop an in-depth knowledge on dosages and they are able to judge the correct dosages of many substances.
These workers are often involved the monitoring of experiments and interpretation of results of drugs and they are based in a lab- just like pharmacologists.
- Clinical research associate
Clinical research associates (also known as trial monitors) are specialists that are mainly work on conducting clinical trial sites in order to measure the effectiveness and safety of various types of medicine before it is placed in markets.
Their job involves trying to ensure that standard regulatory, operations and ethical standards are being shadowed.
Every so often, Clinical research associates (CRAs) are either employed by pharmaceutical companies or medical research institutes.
As such, they often find themselves travelling between study sites for monitoring visits. At times, they can also conduct virtual trial visits.
Other duties that they perform from time to time may include communicating with physicians as well as advisors about the topic and method of conducting the trial. When a trial is completed, they are supposed to communicate their findings to doctors or other interested parties. They communication should also include the budget, all the costs that were incurred as well as the materials or resources that were not used during the trial.
As a minimum requirement, clinical research associates should have at least a bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science. Several years of working in the field will allow you to move on to senior and supervisory role.
- Water Chemist
A bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science degree can also land you a job as water chemist.
These specialists are more concerned with the analysis and maintenance of water. As water chemists, you will mainly focus on keeping water safe.
Since this is a highly linked specialty, you may need to have a deep knowledge of other disciplines such as geology.
- Clinical research data specialist
Clinical research data specialists are medical professionals that work on medical data. In the medical research field, their importance cannot be exaggerated.
These specialists work on data from research studies and electronic medical records, as well as other data from disparate systems and sources.
Other related opportunities that fall under this category are occupations such as data analyst, data manager and data coordinator- just to state a few.
- Forensic Scientist
If you are naturally curious with discoveries and you love to solve puzzles, then look no further than this. Forensic scientists have one of the most exciting occupations. TV shows like CSI (crime scene investigation) and movies like Sherlock Holmes are some of the things that have showed us just how fascinating this job can be.
In general, a forensic scientist’s job involves activities such as searching for and analyzing forensic materials that have been found at crime scenes.
For instance, they will analyze biological substances like blood or other bodily fluids, or non-biological substances such as paint, rubber and many more.
After conducting intensive examinations, the forensic scientist is then required to write a report of the findings and, in most cases, must be prepared to testify about the conclusions in court. When presenting findings in court, forensic scientists may sometimes be told to speak in as experts in their field, to explain the evidence to the jury.
In terms of the qualification, forensic scientists must earn a bachelor’s degree in either clinical laboratory science or any other related field. Candidates wanting to specialize more can go upgrade to a master’s in either clinical lab science or a deeper forensic career like forensic odontology
General training in the essential procedures and techniques that are often used in forensic science or forensic odontology can be obtained through attending professional development programs.
You can also take advantage of other training options that are available to you, such as gaining hands-on experience while assisting a qualified professional.
In the Forensic odontology field, you are required to obtain further certification through the American Board of Forensic Odontology. In order to get certified, you must first have some experience working in the field after graduating, then pass the examination.
- Pharmacologist
Next up, a career in pharmacology is another direction that your bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science can take you.
As a pharmacologist, you will often undertake the development and testing of drugs, as well as analyzing how they interrelate with genetic systems.
This is essential for ensuring that drugs are effective and safe for human use, and may involve the testing of drugs on animals or on human volunteers.
In terms of the setting, pharmacologists’ roles are often lab-based. At times, the expert may find him/herself working in non-standard hours. This is only common when the pharmacologist has to monitor uncompleted experimentations.
As for physicians, pharmacists and other scientists, they are said to be at the core of clinical research. In this way, a lot of their work drives the innovations as well as the developments that come as a result of their various research projects.
It is through this research that defective medicine is found and treatments for current and future patients are developed.
In terms of the salary, they mostly vary based on your qualifications, work experience and location of study.
For new and inexperienced pharmacologist, the salary will range from £23,000 to only as high as £35,000.
Candidates that have a postdoctoral position in academia typically get remunerated an amount between £28,000 and £40,000. If you are a lecturers that has the right blend of qualifications, skills and work experience, you are likely to receive over £55,000.
Work at a senior or supervisory level or with substantial experience in industry can entice salaries of £35,000 to of £80,000. Some senior positions even earn more.
- Veterinary Technician
Are you fascinated with treating all kinds of domestic animals? Well, then a becoming a veterinary technician will unquestionably be very satisfying to you.
As a veterinary technician, you will be required to perform a wide range of duties such as carrying out diagnostic tests, organizing animals and instruments before and after a surgery, administering medications, vaccines, and treatments to pets and observing as well as reporting on the behavior and condition of patients (in this case, animals)
In general, a veterinary technician performs the duties that are assigned to him/her by the licensed veterinarian, who is the supervisor.
However, the amount of work or the tasks that a veterinary technician can perform vary based on the location. Laws and regulations in some states limit the responsibilities of a vet technician.
- Marketing and communications expert (Medical-scientific writer)
Marketing and communication experts that either have a medical or scientific background are very essential in this field. In fact, they play a significant role in the presentation of research findings.
As a marketing and communications expert, your job includes writing articles for publications. Also, you are often required to produce other documents such as posters, manuscripts as well as scientific presentations.
Occasionally, MCEs may take part in grant-writing, publicity campaigns, scientific documentation and communication to patients as well as other stakeholders.
Final Words
Now that we have looked at the 10 best jobs, hopefully you have found one which will suit you best.
Take note that this list isn’t in any way exhaustive. We have only selected the best 10 we could find. There are so many other occupations you can do with a bachelor of science in clinical laboratory science. Always keep an eye out for more opportunities.