Also called: Mohs Lab Technician
Freezes and slices skin-cancer tissue in minutes so a Mohs surgeon can check under a microscope whether all the cancer is gone.
A surgeon removes a thin layer of skin cancer and hands you the sample. You map and dye its edges, freeze it, cut slices thinner than a hair on a cryostat, stain them and have slides ready in about 20 minutes while the patient waits. If cancer remains, the cycle repeats until the edges are clear.
Estimate; experienced Mohs techs are in demand and some work per diem.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Histotechnician certificate or associate degree, or on-the-job training in a dermatology office.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Histotechnology, Medical Laboratory Technology, Biology.
Growing faster than average. Skin cancer cases keep rising.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI may pre-screen slides, but fast hand-cutting and staining of frozen tissue stays human for now.
Classes: Biology, Chemistry, Art (steady hands).
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.