After you have obtained your laboratory analyst education, you will be able to choose from a variety of jobs in hospitals, medical clinics, environmental labs, or even working for the federal government. Each different lab setting offers a different salary. However, you should not base your job as an analyst on the pay scale. You need to base your decision on the type of science you enjoy most. For example, you would not want to work in a lab dealing with microbiology if you know that enjoy forensic science lab work more. Narrowing down your lab area of expertise and choosing what you love makes it easier for you to get a job that you will be willing to stick with.

Before you dive head first into a laboratory analyst education, you need to be aware of the job description of a laboratory analyst so you can decide if it is a job for you. Your duties will vary based on the organization and field of science you choose to work in. However, a general description reveals that lab analysts are typically in charge of monitoring various lab experiments and analyze the results for various commonplace procedures. In most cases you will be under the supervision of the scientist of scientists that run the lab that you work in

Your laboratory analyst education will teach you how to maintain procedural integrity in the work place. You will also learn how to record results for future peer review. You will learn how to operate and maintain various types of lab equipment and the importance of sterilization to reduce the occurrence of contamination. If you work in a medical laboratory, you will have to learn how to collect patient samples such as blood work and analyze it. If you work in a forensic laboratory you will have to learn how to handle sample collections carefully so that they do not become cross-contaminated.

Once you have completed your laboratory analyst education, you may be required to obtain certain levels of certification. While it is not required to have a certification to get a job as an analyst, it looks better on your record and opens the door for job advancement if you take the initiative to be certified. You can obtain various certifications through associations such as the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification or the American Medical Technologists. While it is not necessary to have a certification, it has been proven that employers prefer to hire individuals that have taken the initiative to obtain certification.

Suppose you want to be a crime lab analyst. You will need to make this decision before you take part in laboratory analyst education. Rather than just jumping into generalized classes, you will end up focusing more on forensic science than you would on microbiology and chemistry. Analysts that work in a crime lab are in charge of a different list of duties than those that work in a medical laboratory. Crime analysts analyze blood, toxicology samples, and firearms while medical analysts analyze blood, urine, hair, and skin samples.