I am a sophomere in a college thinking of doing Medical Technology after a year.I have always been lured by Medical tech as I heard it is easier to get a job after we graduate in med tech and it offers good amount of money.Actually,my intension is to go to grad school but there is no way i can afford it.So,i want to make some money by working few years and then apply to grad school.I reckon woking few yrs will make my application stronger too.

  So,I want suggestion from u folks who have experience in this field.Does my plan sounds meaningful and can i work accordingly?I found some people who focused on the repeatitive nature of Med. Tech and termed it as a boring job?Is it so?What would u suggest?  Any kind of information and guidelines will be highly appreciated.

Go out and speak to techs in your locality to see what they have to say about their profession.  Make sure you go to a place you would like to apply to work at on the shift you would be likely hired to work on (2nds or 3rds). 

From my experiences, I would suggest rolling right into grad school from undergrad, as you may get wrapped up in your job and not be able to get away. 

I hope you like working evenings and nights with weekends and holidays.  Some places pay well many dont. 

Your best bet is to continue furthering your education while you can.

It's not a bad career overall, but be careful not to be trapped in Medical Technology.  A lot of people get into the field because they can't afford or qualify for something else (MD, Pharmacy, nursing, etc).  If  you don't want a career in Laboratory Medicine, have definite timelines to get out or else life will get in the way.  I've been a Med Tech for about 20 years, and wish I had done something else with more options, like Rad. Tech.

Don't even think about it entering this field. Go straight to graduate school

I am thankful to you all who gave their precious suggestions....God bless u!!!

The best of luck to you! If I were you, I'd go straight to grad school. Don't take any chances and get stuck in med tech.

To add to these questions:  I am also planning along these same lines.  My school offers a concentration in Lab Science so that when I graudate from the program, I would have skipped the certification process and just earned a BS with a concentratin in Lab Science.  There after, I want to go to grad school right away.  What I would like to know is if employment in labs for this sort of degree are available to the same extent that they are available to someone with a certification?

 My goal is to not get caught up in the field, so this is why I am avoiding a certification. 

 Any idea about the sort of employment?

 Thank you al in advance.  This has been a helpful discussion

What you may want to find out is:

1. Does your state require you to hold a license to work in a medical laboratory?  If so, you may need the specific undergrad coursework to qualify.  ( New York is a stickler ! )

2. Will you be considered a Technologist or a Technician ?  in some places there can be a considerable pay difference in the two.

3. If a license is not required, can you get hired without a concentrated medical laboratory education/certification?

4. Find out if the place(s) you want to work really give a hoot about certification.  (none of mine did)

5.  If you are unable to do any of the above, find out if there any university or research facilities that may have PhD.'s in need of a laboratorian for research work.  (a couple of caveats though-- if the PhD leaves the facility, you may be out of a job.  If funding or no grant money is available, you go Bye Bye - and the pay is often low to start in these kind of positions.) -- BUT -- the experience gained in these kinds of positions can be invaluable in that you may have gained cutting-edge experience as a research laboratorian that may help you later in your grad studies.  

 

Hope this helps, and definately talk to people in your (laboratory) area as well as your advisor to find out more about your decided pathway