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Pages 1-2: Assistant editors Kerri Penno and Susan Hopkins speak with laboratorians on how to make your financial goals a reality.
On page 2, you will find links to the 2001 and 2003 ADVANCE Salary Surveys.
Pages 3-4: Here, you will find tables you can use as a quick reference for negotiating your own salary. |
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As 2005 begins to wind down, you should reflect on the past year. Take a moment to look at where you stand, personally, professionally and financially. Some of you may find yourselves dissatisfied with your current position. If so, then now is the time to act on your options-moving up or moving out.
Moving to Management
If you love your facility, coworkers, location and workplace environment, an undesirable paycheck should not drive you out. Sit down and talk with your supervisor, manager or director. Ask about room for advancement and what you can do to earn a promotion and a salary bump.
Lawrence J. Bologna, MT(ASCP), MS, MBA, FACHE, director of laboratory services, The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ, said that a person seeking a managerial role needs a combination of technical expertise and leadership abilities. "Certainly, the leadership abilities far outweigh the technical, but I find that staff respects you more when you understand the technical concept," he noted.
Taking a section head position is not only a way to pad your salary, but also a strategic move to climbing the laboratory career ladder. "Making a move to section head is pretty much required if you eventually want to become a general supervisor, manager or director, which would then command better pay and give you the opportunity to move up to other areas of healthcare," Bologna advised.
Consider this: In the 2005 Salary Survey, in which 1,535 respondents submitted information, generalists reported making an average of $54,739 and chief technologists an average of $53,317, while section supervisors reported annual incomes of $57,019, and administrative directors and managers reported $71,383.
Specialization
The laboratory field is a diverse one, with various modalities and subsets within each department. Laboratory personnel, too, distinguish themselves in different ways, with certification, education and specialization. As the ADVANCE Salary Survey shows, all of these factors can affect salary.
While pathologists, whose place typically falls under the laboratory umbrella, have much higher salaries than their technologist peers, Bruce A. Friedman, MD, professor of pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, explained that pathologists often have doctoral degrees. While a med tech can test the waters by becoming a pathologist's assistant-and Dr. Friedman said it is not unusual for a medical technologist to attend medical school and become a pathologist-there are other paths to a more lucrative specialty in the lab.
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