Community Sentiment
Do you agree?
Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists: 15 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
32%
weighted task index
15 of 15 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,930 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
332,940 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.7%
employment change
20,800 openings a year · BLS roll-up 29-2010
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$37,790 – $97,280
Highest medians
New York $97,280
Oregon $83,010
New Hampshire $81,020
Massachusetts $79,120
Vermont $78,680
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $37,790
Guam $45,130
New Mexico $47,360
Idaho $47,450
Virgin Islands $48,650
OEWS has no state row for this exact code, so figures come from the 29-2010 roll-up. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 32%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 43%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 54%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 61/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
15 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 8%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 42%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 50%
8 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2025 · Incumbent
Conduct blood typing and antibody screening.
Constituent Tasks
#1890 · Core · 35% automatable
Analyze samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
#1886 · Core · 55% automatable
Analyze laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results.
data analysis — Lab finding interpretation; technician verifies results
Analyze laboratory findings.
#1887 · Core · 35% automatable
Conduct chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine, or spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal or abnormal components.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems.
#1889 · Core · 80% automatable
Enter data from analysis of medical tests or clinical results into computer for storage.
data analysis — Patient data entry largely automatable with review
Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
#15233 · Core · 20% automatable
Collect and study blood samples to determine the number of cells, their morphology, or their blood group, blood type, or compatibility for transfusion purposes, using microscopic techniques.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems. Collect biological specimens from patients.
#1892 · Core · 11% automatable
Set up, clean, and maintain laboratory equipment.
physical manipulation — Physical assembly of medical supplies
Clean medical equipment or facilities. Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use. Maintain medical laboratory equipment.
#1888 · Core · 14% automatable
Operate, calibrate, or maintain equipment used in quantitative or qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers, or computer-controlled analyzers.
physical manipulation — Physical operation of sample analysis instruments
Operate laboratory equipment to analyze medical samples. Maintain medical laboratory equipment.
#15232 · Core · 50% automatable
Establish or monitor quality assurance programs or activities to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results.
decision support — Procedure drafts aided; clinical safety accountability human
Develop healthcare quality and safety procedures.
#1894 · Core · 30% automatable
Supervise, train, or direct lab assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians or technologists, or other medical laboratory workers engaged in laboratory testing.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers. Supervise technical medical personnel.
#1899 · Core · 8% automatable
Select and prepare specimens and media for cell cultures, using aseptic technique and knowledge of medium components and cell requirements.
physical manipulation — Manual specimen preparation
Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
#1898 · Core · 7% automatable
Obtain, cut, stain, and mount biological material on slides for microscopic study and diagnosis, following standard laboratory procedures.
physical manipulation — Manual specimen preparation
Collect biological specimens from patients. Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
#1893 · Core · 49% automatable
Provide technical information about test results to physicians, family members, or researchers.
information retrieval — Relaying results is structured; interpretation stays human
Communicate detailed medical information to patients or family members. Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
#1895 · Core · 35% automatable
Develop, standardize, evaluate, or modify procedures, techniques, or tests used in the analysis of specimens or in medical laboratory experiments.
decision support — Protocols need clinical accountability and context
Determine protocols for medical procedures.
#1896 · Supplemental · 17% automatable
Cultivate, isolate, or assist in identifying microbial organisms or perform various tests on these microorganisms.
physical manipulation — Specimen analysis requires lab instruments and hands
Analyze laboratory specimens to detect abnormalities or other problems. Cultivate micro-organisms for study, testing, or medical preparations. Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
#1901 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Harvest cell cultures at optimum time, based on knowledge of cell cycle differences and culture conditions.
physical manipulation — Invasive specimen collection needs hands-on clinical skill
Collect biological specimens from patients.
Embed this calculator on your site ↓
Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.
<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technologists"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script> Method
How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
See the full method →Related Article
Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market
Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.
Read Article ->