Career Opportunities
The cytotechnology concentration is designed to train cytotechnologists for work in rural and urban health care centers, private laboratories and research facilities.
What does a cytotechnologist do?
A cytotechnologist is a highly skilled laboratory professional who studies cells microscopically. The cytotechnologist performs microscopic evaluations of patient samples for the purposes of diagnosing cancer, precancerous lesions, benign tumors, infectious agents and inflammatory processes.
Certification
Graduates of the cytotechnology program will be eligible to sit for the National Registry Examination for Cytotechnologists administered by the American Society of Clinical Pathology.
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Qualities of cytotechnologists
Cytotechnologists:
- are problem solvers,
- like challenge and responsibility,
- are accurate and reliable,
- work well under pressure,
- work independently with little supervision,
- are patient and precise,
- communicate well,
- set high standards for themselves and
- are fascinated by science.
They must also enjoy making decisions and taking responsibility, since their correct analysis of microscopic cellular changes can directly affect a patient’s course of treatment and may save a patient’s life by early detection of cancer.
Job market
According the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the need for cytotechnologist will increase about 10-20 percent until 2010. In a 2003 vacancy rate survey conducted by the American Society of Cytotechnologists, the national vacancy rate for staff cytotechnologists was 18 percent. An increased shortage is predicted for the next five years.
Ninety percent of our students have taken jobs immediately after graduation. Some of our students have had several jobs to choose from. Some employers offer sign-on bonuses and relocation packages to graduates. Our students have taken positions in Louisiana and throughout the United States. Several of our graduates now hold high-level positions as department supervisors and instructors.
Salary
Entry-level salaries of our graduates range from $16-$20 an hour or $33,280-$41,600 respectively. In a 2005 salary survey conducted by the American Society of Cytotechnologists, the average salary of staff and supervisory cytotechnologists were $44,699 and $55,319 respectively.