Career Opportunities for Clinical Laboratory Scientists
Significant Points (U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of Statistics)
Job prospects. Job opportunities are expected to be EXCELLENT because the number of job openings is expected to continue to exceed the number of job seekers. Although significant, job growth will not be the only source of opportunities. As in most occupations, many additional openings will result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations, retire, or stop working for some other reason.
Employment change. Employment of clinical laboratory workers is expected to grow 14 percent between 2006 and 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. The volume of laboratory tests continues to increase with both population growth and the development of new types of tests.
Occupational Employment and Wages
(U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics)
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292011.htm (national averages)
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes292011.htm#st (by region/state)
According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics a total of 9,300 positions were created annually (2000-2005) - Projections are 13,800 positions/year by 2015
- Current U.S. vacancy rate ~9-20%.
- Most severe shortages in Western U.S.
- Currently production of new laboratory professionals - only 4,800 per year
- Shortfall - 4,500 per year now -- 9,000 per year by 2015
The diverse scientific background that CLS students receive in their education provides almost endless career possibilities. The majority of new graduates find employment in hospital laboratories working to diagnose disease of admitted patients or patients who have visited a local physician or clinic. However, there are many opportunities within and beyond the traditional hospital laboratory position. The variety of job possibilities is diverse. The one thing they all have in common is that the demand for graduates of accredited clinical laboratory science programs far exceeds the number of graduates available. The placement rate for UNLV graduates in the field is currently 100 percent.
Within the hospital setting CLS graduates are well prepared to take on supervisory or management positions within the lab, to specialize in individual areas of CLS, or to use their CLS education as an excellent foundation for job positions in areas outside the lab such as infection control, medical records management, laboratory and hospital information systems, quality assurance or transplant services.
Outside of the hospital setting CLS graduates may decide to begin a career in research and development, pharmaceutical corporation research, medical insurance company analyst, expert witness, technical sales or manufacturing representative, computer programmer or systems analyst, or an editor or illustrator for medical publications. Other graduates may decide to pursue a career as a science teacher in K-12 education or university teaching.
The undergraduate degree in CLS or CLS certificate is excellent preparation for graduate school. Personal initiative and integrity along with problem solving skills are abilities developed in each of our graduates making them excellent candidates for advanced education. Graduates of UNLV's CLS Program have successfully completed various graduate programs from basic sciences (e.g. chemistry) to business (MBA) to graduate professional schools such as pharmacy, dental or medical school. Students who are interested in going to a professional medical school should consult with a CLS or Division of Health Sciences advisor to develop a program of study for their goal. An M.S. degree program option is available in CLS through a joint program with the Chemistry Department.
For additional information about the variety of career options available for individuals with a degree or certificate in CLS, please click on this link to view videos from CLS graduates in a broad range of career directions.
Interviews with CLS graduates in various careers Diagnostic Detectives
Click here to view a list of Career Opportunities (pdf)
Information on national certification is available from:
- American Society for Clinical Pathology, 33 West Monroe Street, Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60603. Internet: http://www.ascp.org
- National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel, P.O. Box 15945, Lenexa, KS 66285. Internet: http://www.nca-info.org
State of Nevada Licensing of Laboratory Personnel Application
Additional career information is available from:
- American Association of Blood Banks, 8101 Glenbrook Rd., Bethesda, MD 20814. Internet: http://www.aabb.org
- American Association for Clinical Chemistry, 1850 K Street, NW Suite 625
Washington, DC 20006. Internet: http://www.aacc.org/AACC - American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, 6701 Democracy Blvd., Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20817. Internet: http://www.ascls.org
- American Society for Clinical Pathology, 1225 New York Avenue NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC 20005. Internet: http://www.ascp.org
- American Society for Microbiology, 1752 N Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-2904. Internet: http://www.asm.org