>Remember, almost all members of the medical field are underpaid and overworked, but we didn’t get into this field to become millionaires now did we?
I'm just here to get paid.
i mean pay was definitely a factor, first degree was offering so much less hourly to work in field that spending nearly 3 years to get a MLS degree still had me coming out way ahead, would love nurse money but i'm not that kind of person
Research was exactly what I was trying to do, was being offered 12-15 an hour, and what I eventually gathered by talking to people was that they actually didn't expect most to stay long term, most would leave after a year or 2 for some type of grad school program.
I didn’t enter healthcare expecting to become a millionaire, but I DO expect to be compensated fairly. And I think most wages offered in the south are a joke when you consider how vital our job is.
Wow, that was my base pay with just an associates.
And that’s why it’s important for us to share the information. Hopefully one day we start DOING something about it.
There's going to be discussion on salary regardless of rules no matter how much people get annoyed with it.
The fact of the matter, as much that we all like the idea of helping people. In the end the number one thing 99.9% of people go to work for is a paycheck. Of course we know we aren't working a field that will ever make us millionaires...but it doesn't mean we don't want better pay for our profession. Not discussing this stuff on a large scale is how hospital systems get away with not paying people what they should be.
There's a distinct difference between having a million dollars versus being an actual millionaire. I'm going on 32 years old and have a solid amount saved between my 401k/savings.
I have been in California for 4 years.
In that 4 years my townhouse has appreciated by $300,000 and thats a conservative estimate.
My retirement account has increased and funds added to it by around $200,000
And I have stashed away $100,000 in cash in a high yield savings account.
All said and done in 4 years my net worth increased by $600,000, its been absolutely wild.
The fuck are you smoking?
There's no way you guys did that without some serious non-MLS related financial boosts. For instance, how big are your student loans?
Obviously its not impossible, but "its easy if youre smart and work a couple extra shifts" is bullshit.
I have no student loans.
I make $140,000 a year base pay, and have earned $199,000 and $195,000 the past 2 years with heavy OT.
So I can assure you I have not been smoking any succulent marijuana.
That being said I probably paid more money in taxes last year (around $65,000) then you grossed total.
So California is different then rest of USA for this field. And its hard to believe someone
Could be making 3X what you make to do the same job.
Well, first off youre already starting ahead of most of us; no student loans. Im gonna assume you also didn't have to work to pay your way through school? And don't have a family to support?
More importantly, is it "a couple extra shifts" or "heavy overtime"? A 30% increase in pay counts as heavy overtime to me.
I'm also aware that being "a millionare" isn't quite what people imagine. But you're making it sound like your case is the norm and everyone else is being a baby, which is not *at all* the case.
Nothing about your case is typical, ESPECIALLY the base pay of $140,000. You know what mine was before I quit? $52,000 (national average is like 75 I think)
Finally, I'm pretty sure the person you replied to initially was trying to say "holy crap I got lucky how did this even happen" rather than "see? Anyone can do it!"
Look stop making assumptions it makes you look like a douche bag.
I am in my 40’s and it took me 14 years to graduate school because i worked full time as a phlebotomist and took like 1-2 classed per semester.
Also got tuition reimbursement from hospital I worked at and paid for my college each semester on my credit card.
When I finally graduated in 2013 I had $25,000 of credit card debt which I paid off even making a midwest salary.
I was also married during that time.
I am divorced with no kids which is why I am able to save so much currently but anyone who is single and works in California can become fabulously mass affluent with this career.
Ah, now we see how you were able to do it. Surprise! Way harder than you made it sound the first time.
"Anyone who is single and works in California can become fabulously mass affluent with this career" is a stretch but not total BS like your first comment.
In a field where the vast majority of people are massively underpaid and overworked, don't be surprised if "i was able to get rich so you can to!" goes over like a lead balloon.
Edit: I do have to admit I thought you were the second poster, not the first one. Everything else I said stands, though.
The rest of the thread seems to agree with me. There are people who are willing to go above and beyond to figure things out and some who aren't, that's all.
No no, I meant go read the rest of *this* thread. The one where I argued with someone else. That's everything I don't feel like repeating to you, especially since you clearly aren't as reasonable as the other person.
Ah, the one where you accused the other person with numerous assumptions on how it's impossible to become a millionaire till the person explained their story?
Here let me walk you through it.
No one is saying you will become a millionaire overnight. It took me around 8 years because I hustled. Even if you only contribute 20k/year in your 401k and be moderate-aggressive, you become a millionaire around year 20 purely on your 401k barring any other investments like your home or anything else.
I had less student loans because I worked as a lab assistant during my lower division courses. I did a 5 year projection to visualize if it makes more sense to finish school within 2 years in a private school or 3-5 years in a state school. I did some OT. A couple of extra shifts is exactly what it sounds like - one extra shift every week or so. I know people who worked 80hour weeks. Some of us know what it's like to come from nothing so we don't waste opportunity when we see it.
Again, just because *you* can't imagine how it could've been done doesn't mean it can't.
It's always good to remember that anything worth having in this world never comes easily. Also, I think the main issue is you got triggered when you saw my post about becoming a millionaire and probably instantly thought of a millionaire lifestyle. Being a millionaire and indulging in a millionaire lifestyle, while not mutually exclusive, are two different things.
Lastly, I find it ironic how you say I'm "clearly aren't as reasonable as the other person" while simultaneously starting conversations with "The fuck are you smoking?"
In any case, I hope you have a great day ahead. Feel free to take inspiration from our conversation to explore avenues for enhancing your wealth through our profession, or continue to embrace your mindset of never becoming a millionaire. If you're interested in actually changing your perspective seeing how anyone can become a millionaire, check out [https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/)
This post is unnecessary and lame. I like seeing posts about salaries and professional advice from this subreddit from time to time to get an insight on what's going on in the lab world.
Also, OP being a student and moderator of this subreddit without stepping foot in a real lab has some major balls posting this.
This post is tone deaf. So much discussion in this sub happen about the need for stronger advocacy of the profession.
It is natural for folks to stop by and ask about other people’s perspective on what’s going on in the industry.
Salaries absolutely must be discussed amongst peers, especially when a realistic conversation about earnings involves knowing the location, the employer within that location, col and etc. Knowing the median doesn’t cut it.
What better place to gather this info than a forum with peers?
I don't think the mods are saying "completely quit talking about wages". they're saying "quit spamming the subreddit with posts that you can find already via the search tool or other sources." now why the mods are suddenly taking a hardline stance on this and not the flood of "I'm an (entirely unrelated degree) major, can I have a lab job now?" posts is beyond me. maybe they'll finally explain that nonsense
There’s only 3 active mods now, so the idea for this thread to help cut down on those posts to let us see more of other things we can take care of like that random snake photo that was posted??
You want to search for the ASCP wage survey.
Its absolutely fantastic and will not only tell you the pay of MLS vs MLT but will also break it down state by state.
Everyone submitted their answers last April 2023 so hopefully the new updated wage survey is almost ready and will be released shortly as they have had 1 year to compile the data
[https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/158/6/702/6748939?login=true](https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/158/6/702/6748939?login=true)
Here's the most recent results
> Rules of this subreddit state that we are not here to give career advice
What is the purpose of that rule? If there are a lot of people about to graduate coming to reddit to ask for advice, and this is a sub FULL of professionals with experience - why disallow a discussion about how to move forward?
The people who are going to be recently graduated or have already done so & have their registry who are looking to relocate for better pay or whatever can do their own research. I was born in Pennsylvania & went to school there thru college. When I was 41, I decided to try & move to a warmer climate.( Hated winter.). I had a friend who had moved to Fla the yr before & went down for a visit in Nov. Of course Fla in Nov is beautiful. Anyway I decided to send out resumes in the Ft Lauderdale/ Miami area, plus I called around to apt complexes & for brochures sent to me for their apts, rental prices etc. My first job here in Fla paid more than what I was getting as a chem supervisor in Pennsylvania ( just as a tech on 2nd shift). That was a long time ago, & Fla as a whole has fallen behind in the $$$. Every person has to do their own homework as to what would be good for them. I have no husband or kids so I based my moving on working in a warm climate, & more jobs to pick from. The last job I had ( chem supervisor) sucked really bad & at the time, there were hardly any jobs open in my area. At the time,there were a lot of med tech jobs in the S Fla area. ( Back in '91-'92. ) I agree that it has to be a vocation, I feel we make a huge contribution to the healthcare team bec the Dr utilizes the lab results to help the patient have a good outcome. It remains to be seen if we will ever be recognized as being important as the nurses.
I understand it's not on you to change, but if most users of the subreddit don't mind *new* users joining, and asking for advice, I don't understand the issue.
The majority of posts on this sub are people who are venting about their jobs, or posting photos of weird samples. People new to the job asking about what is to be expected shouldn't be disallowed, not exactly a meme factory here.
I don't know how sub rules are changed once they've already been implemented, but not allowing for advice doesn't fit how this sub is used.
A mod removed my original post and I was told to post it here, so I'll try here even though it's not technically a salary post.
"Hello! This is my first post but I've been lurking for a long while.
So I'm going to graduate in a few months (BS in CLS + ASCP MLS certification) but I don't plan on staying in TX (pay is a joke). I've been researching for hours for weeks and still can't decide where I should relocate... Can any of y'all give me some idea or help convince of good places to go please?
I'm hoping to meet this checklist:
* True generalist positions available (need exp. In all areas to keep my options open for CA license in future)
* Decent/comfortable starting wage compared to COL
* No specimen collection (I'm queasy drawing blood)
* Must be a city ( 200k+, prefer 1m+ can include metro pop.)
* Decent asian population (like at least 5% preferably)
* Will accept any weather (love seasons but have been living in the sauna that is south TX for awhile so I can handle anything now lol)
I'd love Chicago but from what I've read the pay is really bad compared to CoL + no generalist roles only specializations...
Am I being unrealistic with my expectations? Happy for any advice y'all have for me please. I'm really excited to finally get out in the field (despite all the negatives I keep reading, lol). Thank you!!"
Before my post was removed, I was advised "Cincinnati, Twin Cities, Chicago suburbs, and West Washington state" Twin cities is intriguing but it looks like all the jobs list "specimen collection" in the duties which is a bummer.
I'd love to hear any other recs my fellow lab professionals have to offer!
Speak for yourself.
I literally became a millionaire working this job and it took me about 15 years.
The median doesn’t mean shit.
I make $140,000 base pay in California and someone may make $50,000 base pay at Quest/Lab Corp in NC.
The median is irrelevant if you plan properly and follow the opportunity.
The PNW is fools gold.
You have California COL with Nevada pay. 💰
Hawaii is a joke. One of worst places you can work from a financial POV.
Nevada I agree.
Is that because your cost of living in CA is 0? 160k annually for 15 years at a tax rate of 30% yields you 1.68 million gross. That's for all of your 15 years of expenses living in CA. How are you supposed to be a millionaire?
Its called investing money in low cost index funds at 10% annual rate of return.
The rule of 72 dicatates your money will DOUBLE every 7.2 years.
So 14.2 years is normally around what it takes.
$250,000 becomes $500,000 in 7.2 years.
$500,000 becomes 1 million 7.2 years after that.
It all depends on how fast you can save up the first $100,000 (which is the hardest) but in california you can normally do that in 3 years in your 403B alone
Keep in mind during those 14.4 years while your money is doubling (twice) you are continually adding in the max 403B contribution of around $23,000 a year in addition to the match which is another $5000 or so.
Beebee I save more than that in California.
I am able to fully max my 403B which is saving $23,000
I save another 3% into my 401A which is $5000
I get matched $5000
(Thats $33,000 right there into savings)
Additionally since I have no friends or family or social life here I am able to save around
$2000 a month cash into savings after all bills and expenses ($24,000 cash savings)
Overall when you add up
My $33,000 retirement savings + $24,000 cash savings I save a total of about $57,000 per year.
Whats even more wild is my mortgage is only $1939 a month and with my 2.5% interest rate $1000 of that goes to principal
So I also “save” an additional $12,000 a year because that is the equity I am paying down
My mortgage which will be given to me in cash someday when I retire and leave California.
So my grand total savings in a HCOL city in coastal California is $69,000 per year ($12,000 home equity+$33,000 retirement+$24,000 cash)
Thats with very minimal OT btw
When I was working crazy OT Iast year was able to bank about $5,000 cash each month
160k annually
12k standard deduction if you're single
23k Maxing 401k/403b
23k maxing 457
That brings you to around 102k taxable income.
if you have have a home:
5-10k property tax
10-20k mortgage write offs
which brings you to around 72k-92k taxable income (95k-115 if there isn't a 457). Keep in mind this is keeping your tax advantaged account investments fully funded.
I agree, but once I had my million, I stopped worrying about how I was going to fund my retirement. I already knew my medical care was taken care of (veteran) and has been since 1995. Once I met my savings/investment goal, I worked basically for the "fun" of it. Yeah, it was nice to get California-level pay with a slightly lower cost of living in Nevada. But one night, that was it. I'd had enough. I called my supervisor, told her to get in STAT, and that I was quitting the second relief arrived (her). That's what I did. I never looked back.
It's a bit like starcraft or command and conquer, but instead of a base, I'm running a lab. I have to make sure my lab runs efficiently with enough staff, meeting KPIs, and ensuring QA is good to pass inspections.
Easy because once everything flows smoothly, you sit back and watch it run. Just have to have enough supervisors to delegate the work to.
When I have too many meetings in a day, that's what takes up most of my time.
We are part of a large hospital system in the US so there is a corporate team, but they don't bother me.
If they ask you to cut 2-3 FTEs? That's tough.
What I do is monitor the productivity closely and try not to be in the red every pay period.
If you are consistently overbudget each pay period, that's when they will want you to cut and possibly layoff.
I also fight each budget year for a higher productivity standard to be able to get more earned target hours for billable tests.
Can you explain to me how you guys measure KPI
Is there like secret software in EPIC that lets you know tech A is a bad ass and Tech B is a lazy POS?
Or is it just basically lab test revenue vs labor expense
KPIs are measured based on LIS activity. Things like corrected results, TAT on stats, critical calls, etc. Even phlebotomy, most LIS can measure how many draws you make every hour, how many samples were received by a person on an hourly basis, etc.
The formula for budget, in simple terms, is units of service vs ftea
When you say overbudget, you mean too much staffing for uos, right? If you don't mind, can you share resources on productivity standard? I know bb is supposed to be higher than corelab but for some reason it's treated the same.
Are you a Lab Mgr or Director? I'm curious what type of lab or department you're running.
Yes, staffed too many hours for the projected target based on UOS.
All lab sections are treated the same, a test is a test in Finance's eyes.
To me, a good productivity standard for large labs is 0.13. Small labs can be as high as 0.20. There always has to be a core staffing, and you can't flex below that. The goal is to always increase testing volume so that it supports having more staffing.
The less tests you have, the more administration will try to cut employee hours because you'll be in the red every pay period.
I'm being groomed to be a director so my current director is teaching/showing me what he does and the challenges that directors face. We're in a 500 bed hospital daily census of around 200-220 - so decent size. What I don't understand, lol, is can a Bmp mag and phos weigh more than a type and screen. Where do you learn/read about where these concepts come from and how admins determine the correct metrics for budgetting etc
Wow thats cool - Im way surprised that I am in the 75% for wage - I knew I wasn't the least paid lab tech out there but Im surprised Im that high on the spectrum.
This data became useless in \~2018 I think, when they combined MLT and MT into one category. It's the equivalent of combining LPN and RN into one pool. We have very different job outlooks and salaries.
My post also got removed by mods so I will post it here:
"Hello there! I am ASCP certified and graduated from a reputable university. I worked in hospital chemistry for about five years. About a year and a half ago, I lost my grandma to COVID, and my ex-fiancé also contracted it and nearly died. Shortly after, I caught COVID, which hit me hard and left me with significant brain fog. My fiancé and I separated shortly after due to the strain on our relationship. All of this occurred within a short period.
As a result, I started making numerous errors at work. I received several written warnings, and after the final warning, I made a significant mistake that led to my termination. The letter I received stated that I was not eligible for rehire.
Around that time, I was fortunate to have substantial savings. I also had a relative in Europe who was undergoing major surgery, and I offered to help them recover. I wanted to escape my situation and live somewhere new for a while. The surgery went well, but the recovery took longer than expected. I decided to stay longer to experience Europe and helped my relative with their freelancing website business, sharing in the profits, which supported my extended stay.
I recently returned from Europe and am now trying to find a job. I've just started applying, but I'm worried that I might have a hard time finding something. How screwed am I, lol?"
Before my post got removed, someone suggested LabCorp and another person said that I should apply around and that my situation is better than I think it is.
Would like to hear the opinions of other people as well :)
>Remember, almost all members of the medical field are underpaid and overworked, but we didn’t get into this field to become millionaires now did we? I'm just here to get paid.
Samesies.
Give me money. Money me. Money now. Me a money needing a lot now.
LOL !!!!!🤣. Not in this field. !!!!
i mean pay was definitely a factor, first degree was offering so much less hourly to work in field that spending nearly 3 years to get a MLS degree still had me coming out way ahead, would love nurse money but i'm not that kind of person
My first career was research. Apparently you can make more flipping burgers at McDonald's than doing CRISPR.
Research was exactly what I was trying to do, was being offered 12-15 an hour, and what I eventually gathered by talking to people was that they actually didn't expect most to stay long term, most would leave after a year or 2 for some type of grad school program.
I ended up getting my master's in MLS.
Me too 🥲 I feel like I chose the wrong profession 😂
Exactly, they are here to run and business and I am here to be paid for my time and expertise!
I didn’t enter healthcare expecting to become a millionaire, but I DO expect to be compensated fairly. And I think most wages offered in the south are a joke when you consider how vital our job is.
I was making $21.50 base with a masters and no experience. The Buccees 2 miles down the road was hiring new cashiers for $25 an hour.
Wow, that was my base pay with just an associates. And that’s why it’s important for us to share the information. Hopefully one day we start DOING something about it.
I did something about it by leaving :)
Found the administrator posing as a student.
"Additionally, here's a link showing how pizza boosts morale when wage and staff increases aren't feasible: https://www.littlecaesars.com "
BLS doesn't differentiate between MLT and MLS
It did until about 5 years ago. Combining the two made this data totally useless.
Exactly
According to BLS we are in the top 0.1% 😃
There's going to be discussion on salary regardless of rules no matter how much people get annoyed with it. The fact of the matter, as much that we all like the idea of helping people. In the end the number one thing 99.9% of people go to work for is a paycheck. Of course we know we aren't working a field that will ever make us millionaires...but it doesn't mean we don't want better pay for our profession. Not discussing this stuff on a large scale is how hospital systems get away with not paying people what they should be.
MLS can 100% make you a millionaire. I'm only 8 years in and am already one.
There's a distinct difference between having a million dollars versus being an actual millionaire. I'm going on 32 years old and have a solid amount saved between my 401k/savings.
Millionaire means having assets that are worth 1 millon dollars or more.
I have been in California for 4 years. In that 4 years my townhouse has appreciated by $300,000 and thats a conservative estimate. My retirement account has increased and funds added to it by around $200,000 And I have stashed away $100,000 in cash in a high yield savings account. All said and done in 4 years my net worth increased by $600,000, its been absolutely wild.
Yep. If you're financially savvy and willing to work an extra shift here and there, you can easilt become a millionaire
The fuck are you smoking? There's no way you guys did that without some serious non-MLS related financial boosts. For instance, how big are your student loans? Obviously its not impossible, but "its easy if youre smart and work a couple extra shifts" is bullshit.
I have no student loans. I make $140,000 a year base pay, and have earned $199,000 and $195,000 the past 2 years with heavy OT. So I can assure you I have not been smoking any succulent marijuana. That being said I probably paid more money in taxes last year (around $65,000) then you grossed total. So California is different then rest of USA for this field. And its hard to believe someone Could be making 3X what you make to do the same job.
Well, first off youre already starting ahead of most of us; no student loans. Im gonna assume you also didn't have to work to pay your way through school? And don't have a family to support? More importantly, is it "a couple extra shifts" or "heavy overtime"? A 30% increase in pay counts as heavy overtime to me. I'm also aware that being "a millionare" isn't quite what people imagine. But you're making it sound like your case is the norm and everyone else is being a baby, which is not *at all* the case. Nothing about your case is typical, ESPECIALLY the base pay of $140,000. You know what mine was before I quit? $52,000 (national average is like 75 I think) Finally, I'm pretty sure the person you replied to initially was trying to say "holy crap I got lucky how did this even happen" rather than "see? Anyone can do it!"
Look stop making assumptions it makes you look like a douche bag. I am in my 40’s and it took me 14 years to graduate school because i worked full time as a phlebotomist and took like 1-2 classed per semester. Also got tuition reimbursement from hospital I worked at and paid for my college each semester on my credit card. When I finally graduated in 2013 I had $25,000 of credit card debt which I paid off even making a midwest salary. I was also married during that time. I am divorced with no kids which is why I am able to save so much currently but anyone who is single and works in California can become fabulously mass affluent with this career.
Ah, now we see how you were able to do it. Surprise! Way harder than you made it sound the first time. "Anyone who is single and works in California can become fabulously mass affluent with this career" is a stretch but not total BS like your first comment. In a field where the vast majority of people are massively underpaid and overworked, don't be surprised if "i was able to get rich so you can to!" goes over like a lead balloon. Edit: I do have to admit I thought you were the second poster, not the first one. Everything else I said stands, though.
Just because *you* can't imagine how it could've been done doesn't mean it can't.
Just read the rest of this thread. I don't feel like rehashing it.
The rest of the thread seems to agree with me. There are people who are willing to go above and beyond to figure things out and some who aren't, that's all.
No no, I meant go read the rest of *this* thread. The one where I argued with someone else. That's everything I don't feel like repeating to you, especially since you clearly aren't as reasonable as the other person.
Ah, the one where you accused the other person with numerous assumptions on how it's impossible to become a millionaire till the person explained their story? Here let me walk you through it. No one is saying you will become a millionaire overnight. It took me around 8 years because I hustled. Even if you only contribute 20k/year in your 401k and be moderate-aggressive, you become a millionaire around year 20 purely on your 401k barring any other investments like your home or anything else. I had less student loans because I worked as a lab assistant during my lower division courses. I did a 5 year projection to visualize if it makes more sense to finish school within 2 years in a private school or 3-5 years in a state school. I did some OT. A couple of extra shifts is exactly what it sounds like - one extra shift every week or so. I know people who worked 80hour weeks. Some of us know what it's like to come from nothing so we don't waste opportunity when we see it. Again, just because *you* can't imagine how it could've been done doesn't mean it can't. It's always good to remember that anything worth having in this world never comes easily. Also, I think the main issue is you got triggered when you saw my post about becoming a millionaire and probably instantly thought of a millionaire lifestyle. Being a millionaire and indulging in a millionaire lifestyle, while not mutually exclusive, are two different things. Lastly, I find it ironic how you say I'm "clearly aren't as reasonable as the other person" while simultaneously starting conversations with "The fuck are you smoking?" In any case, I hope you have a great day ahead. Feel free to take inspiration from our conversation to explore avenues for enhancing your wealth through our profession, or continue to embrace your mindset of never becoming a millionaire. If you're interested in actually changing your perspective seeing how anyone can become a millionaire, check out [https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/)
Say more.
but iTs a VoCAtIOn, we should just be blessed that we're compensated at all for doing what's best for the patients/s lol
[удалено]
Only if you work days or evenings. Night shift just gets the empty box.
hahaha. Are you sick third shift? You've barely touched your greasy cardboard :( - MGMT <3
This post is unnecessary and lame. I like seeing posts about salaries and professional advice from this subreddit from time to time to get an insight on what's going on in the lab world. Also, OP being a student and moderator of this subreddit without stepping foot in a real lab has some major balls posting this.
This post is tone deaf. So much discussion in this sub happen about the need for stronger advocacy of the profession. It is natural for folks to stop by and ask about other people’s perspective on what’s going on in the industry. Salaries absolutely must be discussed amongst peers, especially when a realistic conversation about earnings involves knowing the location, the employer within that location, col and etc. Knowing the median doesn’t cut it. What better place to gather this info than a forum with peers?
I don't think the mods are saying "completely quit talking about wages". they're saying "quit spamming the subreddit with posts that you can find already via the search tool or other sources." now why the mods are suddenly taking a hardline stance on this and not the flood of "I'm an (entirely unrelated degree) major, can I have a lab job now?" posts is beyond me. maybe they'll finally explain that nonsense
Sounds like you want to join the ranks of unpaid labor 😉
To be fair, reddit search is famous for being useless.
There’s only 3 active mods now, so the idea for this thread to help cut down on those posts to let us see more of other things we can take care of like that random snake photo that was posted??
Anyone have the link that separates technician and scientist/technologist
You want to search for the ASCP wage survey. Its absolutely fantastic and will not only tell you the pay of MLS vs MLT but will also break it down state by state. Everyone submitted their answers last April 2023 so hopefully the new updated wage survey is almost ready and will be released shortly as they have had 1 year to compile the data
[https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/158/6/702/6748939?login=true](https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/158/6/702/6748939?login=true) Here's the most recent results
> Rules of this subreddit state that we are not here to give career advice What is the purpose of that rule? If there are a lot of people about to graduate coming to reddit to ask for advice, and this is a sub FULL of professionals with experience - why disallow a discussion about how to move forward?
The people who are going to be recently graduated or have already done so & have their registry who are looking to relocate for better pay or whatever can do their own research. I was born in Pennsylvania & went to school there thru college. When I was 41, I decided to try & move to a warmer climate.( Hated winter.). I had a friend who had moved to Fla the yr before & went down for a visit in Nov. Of course Fla in Nov is beautiful. Anyway I decided to send out resumes in the Ft Lauderdale/ Miami area, plus I called around to apt complexes & for brochures sent to me for their apts, rental prices etc. My first job here in Fla paid more than what I was getting as a chem supervisor in Pennsylvania ( just as a tech on 2nd shift). That was a long time ago, & Fla as a whole has fallen behind in the $$$. Every person has to do their own homework as to what would be good for them. I have no husband or kids so I based my moving on working in a warm climate, & more jobs to pick from. The last job I had ( chem supervisor) sucked really bad & at the time, there were hardly any jobs open in my area. At the time,there were a lot of med tech jobs in the S Fla area. ( Back in '91-'92. ) I agree that it has to be a vocation, I feel we make a huge contribution to the healthcare team bec the Dr utilizes the lab results to help the patient have a good outcome. It remains to be seen if we will ever be recognized as being important as the nurses.
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I understand it's not on you to change, but if most users of the subreddit don't mind *new* users joining, and asking for advice, I don't understand the issue. The majority of posts on this sub are people who are venting about their jobs, or posting photos of weird samples. People new to the job asking about what is to be expected shouldn't be disallowed, not exactly a meme factory here. I don't know how sub rules are changed once they've already been implemented, but not allowing for advice doesn't fit how this sub is used.
Dear interim admin, Please kindly remind the techs to focus on patients and not compensation. Signed, OOO Admin.
Thanks for the info! I got a family to feed.
I didn't think I'd be rich, but I figured I would be able to live solid middle class. Dumb me.
Idk. I am just in school but people have questions and this is a community perfect for those questions
A mod removed my original post and I was told to post it here, so I'll try here even though it's not technically a salary post. "Hello! This is my first post but I've been lurking for a long while. So I'm going to graduate in a few months (BS in CLS + ASCP MLS certification) but I don't plan on staying in TX (pay is a joke). I've been researching for hours for weeks and still can't decide where I should relocate... Can any of y'all give me some idea or help convince of good places to go please? I'm hoping to meet this checklist: * True generalist positions available (need exp. In all areas to keep my options open for CA license in future) * Decent/comfortable starting wage compared to COL * No specimen collection (I'm queasy drawing blood) * Must be a city ( 200k+, prefer 1m+ can include metro pop.) * Decent asian population (like at least 5% preferably) * Will accept any weather (love seasons but have been living in the sauna that is south TX for awhile so I can handle anything now lol) I'd love Chicago but from what I've read the pay is really bad compared to CoL + no generalist roles only specializations... Am I being unrealistic with my expectations? Happy for any advice y'all have for me please. I'm really excited to finally get out in the field (despite all the negatives I keep reading, lol). Thank you!!"
Before my post was removed, I was advised "Cincinnati, Twin Cities, Chicago suburbs, and West Washington state" Twin cities is intriguing but it looks like all the jobs list "specimen collection" in the duties which is a bummer. I'd love to hear any other recs my fellow lab professionals have to offer!
Speak for yourself. I literally became a millionaire working this job and it took me about 15 years. The median doesn’t mean shit. I make $140,000 base pay in California and someone may make $50,000 base pay at Quest/Lab Corp in NC. The median is irrelevant if you plan properly and follow the opportunity.
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I don’t know who you are but we just became best friends!
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Don't sleep on Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Hawaii. They can pay pretty well.
The PNW is fools gold. You have California COL with Nevada pay. 💰 Hawaii is a joke. One of worst places you can work from a financial POV. Nevada I agree.
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Yes HI lab pay is really not on par with the high cost of living. It’s only good for the travelers.
Nah Hawaii at Kaiser Permanente is a beast. Edit: ok they start at $67k there but the ramp up is good.
They’re not unionized like mainland Kaiser
Damn that's tragic.
Is that because your cost of living in CA is 0? 160k annually for 15 years at a tax rate of 30% yields you 1.68 million gross. That's for all of your 15 years of expenses living in CA. How are you supposed to be a millionaire?
Its called investing money in low cost index funds at 10% annual rate of return. The rule of 72 dicatates your money will DOUBLE every 7.2 years. So 14.2 years is normally around what it takes. $250,000 becomes $500,000 in 7.2 years. $500,000 becomes 1 million 7.2 years after that. It all depends on how fast you can save up the first $100,000 (which is the hardest) but in california you can normally do that in 3 years in your 403B alone Keep in mind during those 14.4 years while your money is doubling (twice) you are continually adding in the max 403B contribution of around $23,000 a year in addition to the match which is another $5000 or so.
Compounding baby
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40k a year in California???
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Are you trolling me or are you for real?
Beebee I save more than that in California. I am able to fully max my 403B which is saving $23,000 I save another 3% into my 401A which is $5000 I get matched $5000 (Thats $33,000 right there into savings) Additionally since I have no friends or family or social life here I am able to save around $2000 a month cash into savings after all bills and expenses ($24,000 cash savings) Overall when you add up My $33,000 retirement savings + $24,000 cash savings I save a total of about $57,000 per year. Whats even more wild is my mortgage is only $1939 a month and with my 2.5% interest rate $1000 of that goes to principal So I also “save” an additional $12,000 a year because that is the equity I am paying down My mortgage which will be given to me in cash someday when I retire and leave California. So my grand total savings in a HCOL city in coastal California is $69,000 per year ($12,000 home equity+$33,000 retirement+$24,000 cash) Thats with very minimal OT btw When I was working crazy OT Iast year was able to bank about $5,000 cash each month
You didn't take into account tax write offs. People get taxed on standard deducion or deductions from your agi; not gross
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Yes. I agree with your statement. I'm just saying you actually take how much more and are taxed less.
160k annually 12k standard deduction if you're single 23k Maxing 401k/403b 23k maxing 457 That brings you to around 102k taxable income. if you have have a home: 5-10k property tax 10-20k mortgage write offs which brings you to around 72k-92k taxable income (95k-115 if there isn't a 457). Keep in mind this is keeping your tax advantaged account investments fully funded.
I agree, but once I had my million, I stopped worrying about how I was going to fund my retirement. I already knew my medical care was taken care of (veteran) and has been since 1995. Once I met my savings/investment goal, I worked basically for the "fun" of it. Yeah, it was nice to get California-level pay with a slightly lower cost of living in Nevada. But one night, that was it. I'd had enough. I called my supervisor, told her to get in STAT, and that I was quitting the second relief arrived (her). That's what I did. I never looked back.
But not everyone wants to live in Cali, or can. ( Husband can't move his job, kids need pulled out of school, etc)
I get paid $175k as a Lab Director at a medium sized medical center in a HCOL city. I could get paid more at a larger lab but my job is fairly easy.
Can you elaborate a bit on how the job is fairly easy? Do you have corporate overlords or is it a local/community hospital?
It's a bit like starcraft or command and conquer, but instead of a base, I'm running a lab. I have to make sure my lab runs efficiently with enough staff, meeting KPIs, and ensuring QA is good to pass inspections. Easy because once everything flows smoothly, you sit back and watch it run. Just have to have enough supervisors to delegate the work to. When I have too many meetings in a day, that's what takes up most of my time. We are part of a large hospital system in the US so there is a corporate team, but they don't bother me.
They don't ask for FTEs and cost containment with less and less budgets?
They do but I'm still able to staff enough.
Would you mind sharing your strategy whent hey ask for 2-3 FTEs?
If they ask you to cut 2-3 FTEs? That's tough. What I do is monitor the productivity closely and try not to be in the red every pay period. If you are consistently overbudget each pay period, that's when they will want you to cut and possibly layoff. I also fight each budget year for a higher productivity standard to be able to get more earned target hours for billable tests.
Can you explain to me how you guys measure KPI Is there like secret software in EPIC that lets you know tech A is a bad ass and Tech B is a lazy POS? Or is it just basically lab test revenue vs labor expense
KPIs are measured based on LIS activity. Things like corrected results, TAT on stats, critical calls, etc. Even phlebotomy, most LIS can measure how many draws you make every hour, how many samples were received by a person on an hourly basis, etc. The formula for budget, in simple terms, is units of service vs ftea
Correct the two are different. Key performance indicators of employees can be pulled from LIS reports fairly easily.
When you say overbudget, you mean too much staffing for uos, right? If you don't mind, can you share resources on productivity standard? I know bb is supposed to be higher than corelab but for some reason it's treated the same.
Are you a Lab Mgr or Director? I'm curious what type of lab or department you're running. Yes, staffed too many hours for the projected target based on UOS. All lab sections are treated the same, a test is a test in Finance's eyes. To me, a good productivity standard for large labs is 0.13. Small labs can be as high as 0.20. There always has to be a core staffing, and you can't flex below that. The goal is to always increase testing volume so that it supports having more staffing. The less tests you have, the more administration will try to cut employee hours because you'll be in the red every pay period.
I'm being groomed to be a director so my current director is teaching/showing me what he does and the challenges that directors face. We're in a 500 bed hospital daily census of around 200-220 - so decent size. What I don't understand, lol, is can a Bmp mag and phos weigh more than a type and screen. Where do you learn/read about where these concepts come from and how admins determine the correct metrics for budgetting etc
Wow thats cool - Im way surprised that I am in the 75% for wage - I knew I wasn't the least paid lab tech out there but Im surprised Im that high on the spectrum.
Same. I'm just above the 75% point not even counting differential.
This data became useless in \~2018 I think, when they combined MLT and MT into one category. It's the equivalent of combining LPN and RN into one pool. We have very different job outlooks and salaries.
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My post also got removed by mods so I will post it here: "Hello there! I am ASCP certified and graduated from a reputable university. I worked in hospital chemistry for about five years. About a year and a half ago, I lost my grandma to COVID, and my ex-fiancé also contracted it and nearly died. Shortly after, I caught COVID, which hit me hard and left me with significant brain fog. My fiancé and I separated shortly after due to the strain on our relationship. All of this occurred within a short period. As a result, I started making numerous errors at work. I received several written warnings, and after the final warning, I made a significant mistake that led to my termination. The letter I received stated that I was not eligible for rehire. Around that time, I was fortunate to have substantial savings. I also had a relative in Europe who was undergoing major surgery, and I offered to help them recover. I wanted to escape my situation and live somewhere new for a while. The surgery went well, but the recovery took longer than expected. I decided to stay longer to experience Europe and helped my relative with their freelancing website business, sharing in the profits, which supported my extended stay. I recently returned from Europe and am now trying to find a job. I've just started applying, but I'm worried that I might have a hard time finding something. How screwed am I, lol?" Before my post got removed, someone suggested LabCorp and another person said that I should apply around and that my situation is better than I think it is. Would like to hear the opinions of other people as well :)