Medical Laboratory Assistants at a Glance: What Do They Do?

• Medical lab assistants play a hands-on, essential role in healthcare
  They handle a wide range of tasks—from specimen processing and phlebotomy to equipment maintenance and basic testing—while working directly with patients in active clinical environments.
• The role requires a mix of technical and soft skills
  Success in this career depends on attention to detail, organization, communication, and the ability to follow strict safety protocols, along with comfort using lab equipment and multitasking in team settings.
• It’s a stable career with growth potential and accessible entry paths
  With an average salary around $45,000 and strong job growth (16%), becoming a medical lab assistant offers job security and opportunities to advance into roles like lab technician, phlebotomist, or supervisor—often starting with just a high school diploma plus optional certification and training.

A medical laboratory assistant is an integral, hands-on part of many healthcare facilities. If you’re interested in a career as a medical lab assistant and want to know more about what they do and if it’s a worthwhile job, this blog is for you.

A medical lab assistant has several responsibilities, including

• laboratory equipment maintenance
• preparing and processing specimens
• performing phlebotomy
• labeling
• conducting basic tests
• data entry
• preparing and staining slides for analysis

Working as a medical lab assistant is a very hands-on job and requires a lot of engagement with patients. While there are some medical careers that are more administrative and behind the scenes, this is not one of them.

Read more: Top Healthcare and Medical Careers for 2025

Medical lab assistants are necessary staples in many healthcare facilities. If you choose to pursue this career, you can potentially work in doctors' offices, outpatient and urgent care clinics, and hospitals, to name a few.

Read more: 8 Online Degrees That Pay Well & You Can Start Today

Like many healthcare roles, medical lab assistants need clinical as well as soft skills to adequately do their jobs. Some skills they’ll want to focus on obtaining or honing include

• attention to detail
• organization
• communication skills
• technical laboratory skills
• comfort working with medical equipment
• ability to follow strict safety protocols

Aspiring medical lab assistants may already possess some of these skills, while others they can learn on the job or through a training program. Rebecca Testa, a healthcare instructor at Penn Foster, advises “The lab career is heavily focused on quick and precise work. You need strong multitasking and communication skills because you are usually in a team environment, and everyone needs to know what’s going on.”

If you’re considering becoming a medical lab assistant, you’ll likely need, at minimum, a high school diploma. Certification, while not always required, is recommended to help set you apart from other applicants as well as training prior to applying for a medical lab assistant role so your onboarding can be quicker and smoother. Penn Foster’s Medical Laboratory Assistant Program, for example, includes a required externship that ensures students get the hands-on experience they need to do the job. It also helps prepare students to sit for the American Medical Technologist’s Certified Medical Lab Assistant (CMLA) certification exam as well as the Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) exam from NHA (National Healthcareer Association).

Read more: Going Back to School as an Adult (FAQs)

Becoming a medical lab assistant can be a great move for stability as well as your wallet. Medical laboratory assistants make on average about $45,000 a year. The job outlook is also looking bright, with a growth rate of 16% through 2028. In the current unsteady job market and economy, a job with that kind of security can be very appealing.

Read more: Which Healthcare Certifications Pay the Most? A Guide to Higher-Earning Medical Jobs Through Certification

A day in the life of a medical laboratory assistant may not always look exactly the same and can vary depending on your work environment. According to Rebecca, “there are different kinds of laboratory scenarios depending on the type of lab you are working in. However, a typical day would begin by reviewing your overall workload, having supplies ready for your tasks, and aligning your job duties for that day with the team you are working with.”

Medical lab assistant can absolutely be considered a good career! The job outlook alone can be a perk for anyone who’s had trouble in other struggling industries. It’s a vital role in the healthcare field with room for advancement if that appeals to you. There are several career pathways that can start with a job as a medical lab assistant. You could potentially move into a medical lab technician role or a phlebotomist role, for example. You could even aim to move into a leadership role, like a lab supervisor.

Read more: 9 Best Careers for the Future

If you think becoming a medical laboratory assistant is right for you, get hands-on training through Penn Foster’s accredited Medical Laboratory Assistant Career Diploma Program. The 120-hour externship the program requires enables learners to gain the skills they need to be confident starting a new job in the field. If you’re wondering if an online program can really prepare you for a career like this in healthcare, let us put your mind at ease. “Yes!” Rebecca says. “With today’s technology and accessibility, this is a very easy way to enter the field of laboratory science.”

You can be on your way to a great new career in no time! Request more information or start the enrollment process today!