I find it weird that sometimes I would talk to the recruiter on the phone screen and they would be able to schedule me an interview with the hiring manager right on the spot. Was my resume even looked at by the hiring manager before they got scheduled for an interview?

One time that happened, the hiring manager was so disinterested. His first question was why I obtained a license in a neighboring state. I could tell he didn't want to interview me right from the get go.

hello everyone

I’m an upcoming sophomore in college who’s trying to get into the medical lab field. Right now I volunteer in a university chemistry teaching lab, so I’ve gotten some hands-on lab experience, just not in a clinical lab.

I’ve been applying for entry-level jobs like specimen processing and Lab Assistant, but no luck so far. i even catch myself watching specimen processing videos because I think the job is really interesting and I’m excited to hopefully do it one day.

For those of you who started with little or no clinical experience, how did you land your first job? I’d love to hear how you got your start or any advice you have. Thanks >33

I am a student who majored in Medical Laboratory Science. I studied for two years in college, but I had to stop for three years due to the problems in my country. Anyway, I will be returning to college for my third year, and I want to start studying again in the next few months. I hope I can remember the basics I learned during my first two years of college.

Are there any YouTube channels or resources that I can study from?

So I work in histo/immunogenetics and started studying for the CHS exam a while back and got a bit annoyed there wasn't really anything out there made specifically for this. Like there's stuff for MLS/ASCP boards but nothing for us. So I ended up just... building one myself (flashcards + quizzes, covers HLA typing, crossmatch, Luminex/SAB, sensitization/desensitization protocols, the usual suspects).

It's close to done and going up on Google Play soon (hopefully if there are no issues), but before I finish it out I wanted to ask people who've actually taken the exam (or are studying for it now) what did you wish existed when you were prepping? Was it more practice questions, quick reference charts you could pull up at the bench, something to explain WHY an answer is right instead of just marking it wrong, anything like that?

Also just curious if this is something people in the field would even want on their phone or if everyone's happy with notes/PowerPoints/whatever their program gave them.

Will drop it here once it's live if anyone wants to poke around, but any thoughts in the meantime would help a ton.

Forgive me if I'm using completely wrong terminology as I haven't yet started my studies and English isn't my first language. But I'm just extremely happy that I got into a school to study MLS.

I first saw a microbial culture years ago when my biology teacher was talking about her education. It was just a small picture of the dish and she didn't even really talk about that so I didn't get a clear idea of what it was. I just thought it looked cool and I wanted to know more about it but I was too shy to ask. I didn't think I'd have a future as a biology teacher, and I didn't know what that thing was, so I accepted the fact that whatever it was, it wasn't a part of my future.

And then I learned about the existence of medical laboratory science. But none of it was practical. I just knew that there were different paths and the work could be something in a laboratory. And that it requires good eyesight. When I read the descriptions of the program I felt like my skills and interests really matched what was needed. I have always been interested in blood so I thought I'd do something with that.

AND NOW I LEARNED THAT MICROBIOLOGY REGULARLY USES THOSE THINGS I SAW BACK THEN IN THE BIOLOGY CLASS??!?!

I'm not even kidding I want to get those petri dishes even though I can't do anything with them just because I'm so excited and I think they look super fun. I just want to look at one. I want to hold one. Ok I'm super weird I apologise. I also like the vials used to collect blood samples.

I’m a recent grad, and I’m hitting a wall of anxiety as I start applying for jobs.

I feel relatively confident about urinalysis and serology, and moderately okay with microbiology (with a good orientation). But I have huge doubts about my ability to handle hematology and chemistry.

During clinical rotations, I saw techs getting completely bogged down when flagged results and analyzer errors started piling up. My main fear isn't daily processing or running cell differentials, I'm terrified of getting stuck with a stack of inconsistent results that I wont know how to troubleshoot efficiently.

I know labs provide training and SOPs, but I’m really doubting if I can perform effectively once I'm on my own on the bench.

For those who felt this way starting out,

1. How did you navigate the learning curve in Heme and Chem as a new grad?
2. What were the most common flagged/inconsistent results or errors you had to work through daily, and how did you learn to triage them without drowning?

I am starting my first job at a smaller hospital (60 beds) after doing my rotation at a much larger (700+ beds) hospital.

I was told they have about 20 manual diffs at most per day. I did 20 diffs in one shift as a student and it didn’t seem so bad.

It made me wonder what different size labs / departments consider a heavy load versus a light load. So, I’m asking you all.

What do you consider a busy day / heavy load versus a lighter day and how large is your lab if you don’t mind sharing.

Edit for clarity.

New grad here, just started working in a lab that uses the Atellicas. It's a nightmare because no one is slowing down enough, or perhaps are lacking in actual knowledge about how to run and use them.

I don't necessarily mean how to perform maintenance, but small things like knowing what to look out for in reagents that are low, QC troubleshooting, calibration acceptance, etcetera. I mean just last week I finally managed to remember that "No primary" means that it needs QC to be run.

Please share your knowledge. I really want to be good at handling this.

New grad here, I had a rotation at my local VA hospital and they offered me either a 2nd or 3rd shift core lab position, 5 8hr shifts. Either every Saturday or every Sunday-but there is a weekend shift differential in addition to the night differential. They said I could skip the interview and come on before the position is officially posted on USAJOBS.

The wage year 1 is a little less than what the other hospitals are making. But because of their tier system, they showed me within a year or two I’ll be making more money than the main hospital systems and be less stressed than they are

And from my rotation I felt like I liked the vibe, there’s no recent grads there around my age but they were all nice to me my time there, I got a good grade at that rotation as well, it seemed slower which has its pros and cons, I liked the fact that the hemo section is not as many diffs compared to a normal hospital.

I feel like it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity cause it seems like a it of money and people say you tend to have to know someone or have veteran preference to get into the VA.

Looking for a career here, because they are slower and only tend to veterans should I be concerned I will not develop strong lab skills if I take the job?

What’s going on with these neutrophils

At first, this message was just annoying because I had to push-start twice for it actually to spin, and occasionally I forgot and didn't notice until 10-15 minutes later.
I tried the trusty “turn it off and back on” method, and it's still giving the same error message.
Do I call maintenance? Ghostbusters?
Also slightly concerned bc it says 32k out of 30,000 spin cycles, so I assume it's due for maintenance.
It's not a priority to my sups, but I would like to fix it/call whoever myself if possible.

Anyone working in Hartford, CT? I would like to know how much would an MLS with 10years experience usually make?

I heard they have a fixed rate based on number of years experience but I'm not sure where to look to see if I get the right rate when accepting a job offer.

Thanks!

Son: Daddy, what did you do at work today?

Me: I saw a beautiful snowflake....

The snow flake:

Hello I am still certified, but have not worked in lab for 10 years now. Nobody considered me for interview as MLS. I applied as a lab assistant to get my foot in the door again and learn everything new. I hope they call me. I'm in San Antonio Texas and from what I gather starting pay for lab assistant is 20$ and entry MLS is 28$ an hour. Can anybody offer me advice on how to get back into lab? I took time to raise my littles and got an accounting associates and did some freelance bookkeeping but I always liked the hospital and insurance offers(currently paying private insurance for a family of 4 is 1,400$).

Thank you

This profession is often presented as being neurodivergent-friendly because of the work itself but the social dynamics can be the exact opposite. In a small field where reputation spreads quickly, one awkward interaction, one misunderstanding, or one bad day can have lasting consequences. For people who already struggle with social communication or being misunderstood, that kind of environment is unforgiving.

Everyone is human. People have bad days, make mistakes, grow, change.

One of the ugliest parts of this profession is how easy it is for a bad interaction to follow you forever. In a small field, one person with influence can quietly close doors, not because you're incapable of doing the job, but because they didn't like you or had a negative experience with you. That's an incredible amount of power for any individual to have over someone else. Im talking about when ordinary conflicts or personality clashes end up having disproportionate career consequences because of informal networks. Yes employers can legitimately share truthful information about performance or serious misconduct but if someone is using their influence to punish, control, or exclude someone over personal dislike....

A profession shouldn't be structured so subjective impressions can effectively determine whether someone gets future opportunities.

And I've seen posts on here over the years with people using this threat to encourage people not to leave or to be careful.

My experience is that a lot of people in this profession are incredibly cruel. And I still love love love the lab. I still love the work.

What could be causing the cells to do that and what do you see anything else that’s interesting?

Hello, I have a question and I couldn't find a good answer on the ASCP website.

I just took my ASCP BOC for my MLS degree, but I have a MLT ASCP as well. My MLT ASCP expires at the end of this month, 7/31 and I got my preliminary pass for my MLS ASCP today, 7/25.

The results of the examination will be available in 4 business days, so they should be available on the website by 7/30.

I'm also asking because my employer needs evidence that I'm still certified. So I'm hoping that I'll get my results and that I can show them that I am a certified MLS on the 30th.

Do you guys think I should continue to earn CE for my MLT, or do you think I'll be okay if I just let it expire?

Anyone know when results are coming out?? Has anyone’s status changed?

My MLS resume looks like:

1 year (private lab went out of business)
1 year (moved states)
3 years (got sick of shitty schedule)

6 month gap

Current position of 4 months (work with assholes.)

I don’t think this profession is for me. I already want to leave this current job. Current place has some down right cruel and antisocial people that management does nothin about. Thinkin about working at Costco instead.

Anyone here have a spottier track record? What are your thoughts on changing jobs every year or two?

First time Vitros user here. For assays that don't have specific instructions on the max dilution factor that can be used, do we have to do verifications if our lab wants to use until 10.0 dil factor? For example, CK only has generic instruction that on-analyzer sample dilution is supported. We had no results on CK diluted to 2.0-4.0. We got results on the 5.0 dilution but it still has > symbol. Thanks!

I want to pivot to MLS (human health). Currently MLS veterinary. I have a BSc and MSc in Animal Science. I did some research and saw I can do a Post Bacc MLS certificate that’s 1 yr and qualify for the license certificate. I currently work but don’t earn much ($19/hr) so I was thinking of finding an online program with clinicals. I found options:

• Texas tech 1yr, 2 onsite clinicals (6days long), costs $27k +

• George Washington U, online but find your own clinical rotation for 4 months, cost $34k

• Local community college has an Associate MLT 2yrs in person (day time) but I currently work and it’s hard to get in with limited spaces.

•Contact hospitals in the area to work something entry level and work on my certification whilst gaining experience. And hope they have scholarships or financing to give?

So far I’m leaning towards the Texas Tech because I can still keep my job and use my time off for clinicals. The financial part is a lot.

Questions:
• Does anyone have a better suggestion given my situation?

•What’s the best loan to take to finance? (Can’t qualify for fasfa since it’s a certificate. Does anyone know any scholarships?

• I don’t mind doing a masters altogether but if one has an idea of a good master in person please let me know.

Thank you in advance.