Also called: Lab Assistant, Specimen Accessioner
Receives, labels, sorts, and prepares patient samples so lab tests can run.
Unpacks coolers of blood tubes from clinics, matches each to its order in the computer, spins them in centrifuges, and routes them to the right section of the lab. Accuracy matters: a mix-up could mean the wrong diagnosis.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; trained on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing slowly. Some roles shrinking with lab robotics.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Automated track systems unpack, label, spin and sort tubes in big labs, so fewer processors are needed; small labs keep some.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to hospital labs and Quest or Labcorp for specimen processor jobs
Classes: Biology, Keyboarding or computer apps.
Official data: O*NET occupation 31-9099.
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.