I had also changed career paths as a senior; I was in school for nutrition and food science and now I graduate my internship this August as a MLS 🥰 best decision
I enjoyed listening to your story Dominique! YESSSS to what you said at the end - if we have to contribute/work for 40+ years, we might as well do something that we'll enjoy. I started as a nursing student like you, but I knew that I did not want to do nursing even before starting college (I just didn't admit it). I knew nursing wasn't for me b/c when I thought about graduating with a nursing degree, I wasn't excited---instead I was just anxious. I was finally honest with myself in the second semester of my first year then made the switch my second year of college. I'm so happy I made the switch! I'm still in school but I'm genuinely interested in my classes. I was drawn to MLS b/c I like behind-the-scenes type of work, I enjoy biological sciences, and it is a meaningful career (so hopefully I won't wake up and wonder what I'm doing with my life LOL). I understand that no profession is perfect, and at the end of the day it became picking the career with cons you can tolerate and pros that make it worth while.
Hey!! I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing your journey. I wish I had your mindset early on, I would've switched faster (and saved alot of money! lol) You are so right, that no profession/job is perfect - we just have to choose the one that's right for us.
Happy Lab Week Dominique! I was originally going to school for Dental Hygiene, but one day, I realized that it wasn't for me. Like you, I've always loved science but didn't want to work directly with patients. It wasn't until I got a work study job as Microbiology Lab Aid that I found my true calling. I ended up getting my AA in General Studies with the credits I already had & enrolling in a six month training program. I'm now working as a Medical Laboratory Assistant! My plan is to go back to school next year to get my BS in Medical Laboratory Science. The work is challenging, but worth it & I can't wait to grow in my career as a Medical Laboratory Professional in the same ways that you have! Thanks for being such an inspiration + sharing your journey! I hope that your job has some fun events/activities planned for y'all this week. Mine sure does! 😊
Happy Lab Week Tyshae! Thanks for sharing your journey! I'm glad you are enjoying the lab. I really think your work experience as an MLA will help you alot in your lab program. I always find it hard to explain the feeling, but you put it perfectly - The work in healthcare can be challenging, but it's so worth it!!
Thank you so much for making this video Dominique! I’ve been looking for a career to pivot to since I decided that veterinary medicine isn’t quite the right fit for me. I’ve been working as a veterinary assistant for the last year since I graduated but haven’t been feeling fulfilled in my job and the pay isn’t that great. Ive realized that I have a love for medicine and helping diagnose things but patient care really isn’t my forte. I worked in a research laboratory at a university during undergrad and enjoyed working there but didn’t want to become a professor either. I didn’t know about MLS until I stumbled across it on indeed and searched for videos on UA-cam and you popped up. So thank you again for all the videos you’ve made! I’ve watched a few in the past several months and have subscribed.
Thank you for sharing! The cool thing is that you still have the option to work in vet medicine as an MLS. I worked with someone that specialized in hematology and they told me many stories of their time as a vet medicine lab manager. I also see lab/mls jobs posted for zoos/aquariums and universities, so plenty of possibilities! I wish you the best on your journey to the lab!
My story is the same!! I never knew about the medical lab part of the hospital until I started watching your videos and now I just applied to the MLT program!!
Lord , nursing school took my soul out . I m glad and went to nursing to see it for myself . I knew I wasn’t passionate about nursing I always lean toward working alone . I’m glad I went to clinical and that wa sit for me .
Thank you so much for this video. People (like myself), could use this info to decide that nursing is not the only way to help people in the medical field! I’m currently a nurse, but always loved and wanted to do research/pathology and find new ways to treat diseases 🙏🏾
Thanks for shining a light on this wonderful field. At first, I was majoring in Chemical Engineering and then found myself interested in medicine. I ended up getting a bachelors in microbiology and cell science instead. I had a food microbiology job for about 2 years but hated the unpredictable hours and little pay. I was stuck about what I should do next and kept seeing medical technologist on my job search. I found a program at my local community college and decided to go for it. Best decision ever! Now I work in micro at my local VA.
Thanks for sharing your journey, it’s so interesting! In my area, theres a lot of pharmaceutical and bio manufacturing lab jobs available for industry, but I haven’t seen food micro - what was it like to work in that kind of lab?
@@domilarae The lab I worked at you knew when you start work but you would not be able to go until the days work is done. Samples came in through UPS, FedEx and sometimes would come in later in the day so I found myself leaving work really late. 12 hour days 5 days a week most of the time. I never actually got to do the microbiology testing cause they started me as a tech. I mainly prepared samples for incubation and plating and then later on was responsible for making culture media for the lab.
I’m applying for a local MLT program! So happy to see these videos! I got a BS in Chemistry and have had no luck finding employment so I decided to go back and do something I really love! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences in the lab. 🧪
This was interesting! I’m an MLS who transitioned into Infection Prevention within the hospital system and I’m loving it. My background knowledge in microbiology has been very helpful. I didn’t know the infection prevention field was open to medical laboratory scientists, and no longer limited to people with public health backgrounds and registered nurses
Thanks for sharing! Do you have any advice for someone wanting to pursue Infection prevention with lab experience? I've also noticed the hospitals near me specify 2-3 years of nursing or microbiology lab experience. It's great to see IP become more open to lab professionals!
@@domilaraenot so much, but if it helps I transitioned into Point of Care, Quality Control & assurance before this and, before that I’ve worked in molecular microbiology/ done numbers of validations and coordinated projects within labs & so when the position opened up and I applied, they were happy to get someone from the lab wanting the position because it’s generally been geared towards nurses but the newer generation of IP’s now want different perspectives not just from the nursing community. So medical lab scientists, pharmacists, microbiologists, public health grads are encouraged to apply. And so far in my experience, the only thing that has really being on the nursing side is reading and understanding what’s documented in patients charts, getting used to the lingo. But it’s not hard to catch up and learn, especially if you already have some health/medical background. But really for infection prevention you’re dealing with the spread of diseases, tracking those, and all that and I don’t see how an MLS could not be more perfect for the role!
Your not rambling thank you for sharing your story. I am going back to school to pursue my passion I currently work as Respiratory therapist. I have a passion for science 🧫 and I want to leave patient care work.
@@domilarae thanks for responding, ok that’s good to know my patient care experience will come in handy. I have been thinking about applying to physician assistant program if I do stay in the medical field
That’s a great option too! Maybe also look into Pathologist Assistant, they are midlevel practitioners similar to PAs but they work strictly in the pathology laboratory
Dominique I love your story! It sound similar to mine. I am 2 weeks away from heading to clinicals. My rotation starts in micro. I love micro but I am not as strong as I want to be in the knowledge of bacteria. Do you have any advice for navigating clinicals and getting stronger in micro? Thanks!
Hey! Are there specific things about the organisms that you'd like to work on?Maybe try organizing your notes into flow charts. CDC has some great flow charts for identifying microbes as well. Check out this site for examples too : wordsology.org/high-yield-notes-2/microbiology/
Hi I've been watching your videos for some time now. I'm working to get my bachelors in laboratory science. Can I ask how you managed to pay for school or how you managed your expenses? What was your main source of income, who you lived with, etc...? Thank you! :)
I paid for school out of pocket and I had a scholarship from a local hospital. I worked through school to pay tuition, fees, books, scrubs, cost to travel to clinical sites, etc. My boyfriend and I had an apartment at the time. It was a 2 beds/2bath townhome style apartment for $900, just really nice pre-Covid prices compared to inflation now 😭
@@domilarae ah thank you so much for responding. That’s really helpful because I think I’m gonna have to do the same. It’s nice to know that you were working while managing school, home, and a relationship! :)
I knew I wanted a BS in Bio but had not really thought much past that. I was taking a Micro class at the local community college just because it was the only other "bio" class offered at the time. During the lab, the instructor kept saying, "When you are in the lab." I was absolutely clueless. I stayed after and asked, "This IS the lab for Micro right? What are you talking about??" 😂😂 Are you not in the MLT program? Uhhhh.... no? I don't even know what that is? So, they explained MLT program. I said well I'm getting a BS; is there a 4 year program?"" Yes, MT.. Well... does the college I will be attending offer it? Yes. I said well great! That's what I'm gonna do then. Decided my career path in about 3 minutes 😂. Never looked at anything else; applied to only ONE school (I didn't know there were over 100 candidates ,only 8 spots, and I was the very last interview- that was a rough week😂). That decision was 30 years ago. I'm a hiring manager now, and it's getting more and more difficult to find techs when so many are retiring and schools are closing. We are seeing lab salaries and sign ons increase in the various local health systems. My son is a Bio major... I wish he would get his CLS!
Wow! That’s so funny, it’s like it was meant to be 😂 Thanks for sharing your story of becoming an MLS! I’ve kinda noticed a similar issue in my area as more older techs begin to retire. I wish there were ways to have educational outreach about the med lab career. When I was getting my bio degree, my school had med lab professionals come from local labs and do presentations. But, there was no one to guidance on how to become an mls, I just remember it being so confusing
Hi Dominique, I was wonder if you make enough money to live comfortable as a MLS? Also, do you make more than 100K a year? (If you don't mind me asking). Thank you and you have a nice channel about the career : )
@@domilarae In which state you live? Here in NYC ( according to my research, so its not like personal experience) you make between 80k to 110k. Your salary is between the 80K - 90K at least? Sorry if the question is too personal, this coming semester I am starting a CLS master program and I am having second thoughts about the payment. I know nurses and PA make much more.
I’m in Georgia so the cost of living isn’t as high as up north, I think the range here is more like 75-95k avg. I don’t get the point of comparing health professions. A PA/NP is gonna make more because they do way more in terms of patient care lol. The lab-equivalent profession is Pathologist Assistant (Path-A), maybe check that out.
Happy Lab Week! 🔬 Let's chat, Why did you choose the lab? Feel free to share your journey in the comments below!
I had also changed career paths as a senior; I was in school for nutrition and food science and now I graduate my internship this August as a MLS 🥰 best decision
I enjoyed listening to your story Dominique! YESSSS to what you said at the end - if we have to contribute/work for 40+ years, we might as well do something that we'll enjoy. I started as a nursing student like you, but I knew that I did not want to do nursing even before starting college (I just didn't admit it). I knew nursing wasn't for me b/c when I thought about graduating with a nursing degree, I wasn't excited---instead I was just anxious. I was finally honest with myself in the second semester of my first year then made the switch my second year of college. I'm so happy I made the switch! I'm still in school but I'm genuinely interested in my classes. I was drawn to MLS b/c I like behind-the-scenes type of work, I enjoy biological sciences, and it is a meaningful career (so hopefully I won't wake up and wonder what I'm doing with my life LOL). I understand that no profession is perfect, and at the end of the day it became picking the career with cons you can tolerate and pros that make it worth while.
Hey!! I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing your journey. I wish I had your mindset early on, I would've switched faster (and saved alot of money! lol) You are so right, that no profession/job is perfect - we just have to choose the one that's right for us.
i’m an RN looking for a career change and MLS seems to be more up my alley. thank you for this video!!
Happy Lab Week Dominique! I was originally going to school for Dental Hygiene, but one day, I realized that it wasn't for me. Like you, I've always loved science but didn't want to work directly with patients. It wasn't until I got a work study job as Microbiology Lab Aid that I found my true calling. I ended up getting my AA in General Studies with the credits I already had & enrolling in a six month training program. I'm now working as a Medical Laboratory Assistant! My plan is to go back to school next year to get my BS in Medical Laboratory Science. The work is challenging, but worth it & I can't wait to grow in my career as a Medical Laboratory Professional in the same ways that you have! Thanks for being such an inspiration + sharing your journey! I hope that your job has some fun events/activities planned for y'all this week. Mine sure does! 😊
Happy Lab Week Tyshae! Thanks for sharing your journey! I'm glad you are enjoying the lab. I really think your work experience as an MLA will help you alot in your lab program. I always find it hard to explain the feeling, but you put it perfectly - The work in healthcare can be challenging, but it's so worth it!!
@@domilarae 😁
Thank you so much for making this video Dominique! I’ve been looking for a career to pivot to since I decided that veterinary medicine isn’t quite the right fit for me. I’ve been working as a veterinary assistant for the last year since I graduated but haven’t been feeling fulfilled in my job and the pay isn’t that great. Ive realized that I have a love for medicine and helping diagnose things but patient care really isn’t my forte. I worked in a research laboratory at a university during undergrad and enjoyed working there but didn’t want to become a professor either. I didn’t know about MLS until I stumbled across it on indeed and searched for videos on UA-cam and you popped up. So thank you again for all the videos you’ve made! I’ve watched a few in the past several months and have subscribed.
Thank you for sharing! The cool thing is that you still have the option to work in vet medicine as an MLS. I worked with someone that specialized in hematology and they told me many stories of their time as a vet medicine lab manager. I also see lab/mls jobs posted for zoos/aquariums and universities, so plenty of possibilities! I wish you the best on your journey to the lab!
My story is the same!! I never knew about the medical lab part of the hospital until I started watching your videos and now I just applied to the MLT program!!
Thanks for sharing! Good luck & I wish you the best on your journey to the lab 💕
Lord , nursing school took my soul out . I m glad and went to nursing to see it for myself . I knew I wasn’t passionate about nursing I always lean toward working alone . I’m glad I went to clinical and that wa sit for me .
I feel the same way, wouldn’t have known it wasn’t for me without trying.
Could you talk more about future career opportunities that MLS could lead to? Options that would require further education or not
Sure, this is a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thank you so much for this video. People (like myself), could use this info to decide that nursing is not the only way to help people in the medical field! I’m currently a nurse, but always loved and wanted to do research/pathology and find new ways to treat diseases 🙏🏾
Have you looked into clinical research nursing?
Coming across your video made my heart so happy. Thank you🙏🏾.
Thanks for shining a light on this wonderful field. At first, I was majoring in Chemical Engineering and then found myself interested in medicine. I ended up getting a bachelors in microbiology and cell science instead. I had a food microbiology job for about 2 years but hated the unpredictable hours and little pay. I was stuck about what I should do next and kept seeing medical technologist on my job search. I found a program at my local community college and decided to go for it. Best decision ever! Now I work in micro at my local VA.
Thanks for sharing your journey, it’s so interesting! In my area, theres a lot of pharmaceutical and bio manufacturing lab jobs available for industry, but I haven’t seen food micro - what was it like to work in that kind of lab?
@@domilarae The lab I worked at you knew when you start work but you would not be able to go until the days work is done. Samples came in through UPS, FedEx and sometimes would come in later in the day so I found myself leaving work really late. 12 hour days 5 days a week most of the time. I never actually got to do the microbiology testing cause they started me as a tech. I mainly prepared samples for incubation and plating and then later on was responsible for making culture media for the lab.
I’m applying for a local MLT program! So happy to see these videos! I got a BS in Chemistry and have had no luck finding employment so I decided to go back and do something I really love! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences in the lab. 🧪
Thanks for sharing! Good luck on your journey to the lab!
Girl same!! Finding a job with BS in Chemistry is HARD!! The lab was my happy place tho so I’m applying for the MLT program
This was interesting! I’m an MLS who transitioned into Infection Prevention within the hospital system and I’m loving it. My background knowledge in microbiology has been very helpful. I didn’t know the infection prevention field was open to medical laboratory scientists, and no longer limited to people with public health backgrounds and registered nurses
Thanks for sharing! Do you have any advice for someone wanting to pursue Infection prevention with lab experience? I've also noticed the hospitals near me specify 2-3 years of nursing or microbiology lab experience. It's great to see IP become more open to lab professionals!
@@domilaraenot so much, but if it helps I transitioned into Point of Care, Quality Control & assurance before this and, before that I’ve worked in molecular microbiology/ done numbers of validations and coordinated projects within labs & so when the position opened up and I applied, they were happy to get someone from the lab wanting the position because it’s generally been geared towards nurses but the newer generation of IP’s now want different perspectives not just from the nursing community. So medical lab scientists, pharmacists, microbiologists, public health grads are encouraged to apply. And so far in my experience, the only thing that has really being on the nursing side is reading and understanding what’s documented in patients charts, getting used to the lingo. But it’s not hard to catch up and learn, especially if you already have some health/medical background. But really for infection prevention you’re dealing with the spread of diseases, tracking those, and all that and I don’t see how an MLS could not be more perfect for the role!
Your not rambling thank you for sharing your story. I am going back to school to pursue my passion I currently work as Respiratory therapist. I have a passion for science 🧫 and I want to leave patient care work.
Thank you for the feedback and Good luck as you return back to school. Your patient care experience will be very helpful!
@@domilarae thanks for responding, ok that’s good to know my patient care experience will come in handy.
I have been thinking about applying to physician assistant program if I do stay in the medical field
That’s a great option too! Maybe also look into Pathologist Assistant, they are midlevel practitioners similar to PAs but they work strictly in the pathology laboratory
Dominique I love your story! It sound similar to mine. I am 2 weeks away from heading to clinicals. My rotation starts in micro. I love micro but I am not as strong as I want to be in the knowledge of bacteria. Do you have any advice for navigating clinicals and getting stronger in micro? Thanks!
Hey! Are there specific things about the organisms that you'd like to work on?Maybe try organizing your notes into flow charts. CDC has some great flow charts for identifying microbes as well. Check out this site for examples too : wordsology.org/high-yield-notes-2/microbiology/
@@domilarae I think learning the process of working up an organism. I will definitely check out those charts! I learn so much better with charts
Well that’s awesome you realize while in nursing school nursing was not your passion 😊😊😊
I just wish I realized sooner 😂😂😂😂
@@domilarae well all do at least you didn’t feel stuck working in nursing after several years.
Hi I've been watching your videos for some time now. I'm working to get my bachelors in laboratory science. Can I ask how you managed to pay for school or how you managed your expenses? What was your main source of income, who you lived with, etc...? Thank you! :)
I paid for school out of pocket and I had a scholarship from a local hospital. I worked through school to pay tuition, fees, books, scrubs, cost to travel to clinical sites, etc. My boyfriend and I had an apartment at the time. It was a 2 beds/2bath townhome style apartment for $900, just really nice pre-Covid prices compared to inflation now 😭
@@domilarae ah thank you so much for responding. That’s really helpful because I think I’m gonna have to do the same. It’s nice to know that you were working while managing school, home, and a relationship! :)
this is literally just what i need right now (thinking of going mls) tysm
I knew I wanted a BS in Bio but had not really thought much past that. I was taking a Micro class at the local community college just because it was the only other "bio" class offered at the time. During the lab, the instructor kept saying, "When you are in the lab." I was absolutely clueless. I stayed after and asked, "This IS the lab for Micro right? What are you talking about??" 😂😂 Are you not in the MLT program? Uhhhh.... no? I don't even know what that is? So, they explained MLT program. I said well I'm getting a BS; is there a 4 year program?"" Yes, MT.. Well... does the college I will be attending offer it? Yes. I said well great! That's what I'm gonna do then. Decided my career path in about 3 minutes 😂. Never looked at anything else; applied to only ONE school (I didn't know there were over 100 candidates ,only 8 spots, and I was the very last interview- that was a rough week😂). That decision was 30 years ago. I'm a hiring manager now, and it's getting more and more difficult to find techs when so many are retiring and schools are closing. We are seeing lab salaries and sign ons increase in the various local health systems. My son is a Bio major... I wish he would get his CLS!
Wow! That’s so funny, it’s like it was meant to be 😂 Thanks for sharing your story of becoming an MLS! I’ve kinda noticed a similar issue in my area as more older techs begin to retire. I wish there were ways to have educational outreach about the med lab career. When I was getting my bio degree, my school had med lab professionals come from local labs and do presentations. But, there was no one to guidance on how to become an mls, I just remember it being so confusing
Hi Dominique, I was wonder if you make enough money to live comfortable as a MLS? Also, do you make more than 100K a year? (If you don't mind me asking). Thank you and you have a nice channel about the career : )
I live very comfortably, but I don't make more than 100k a year lol maybe possible with overtime
@@domilarae In which state you live? Here in NYC ( according to my research, so its not like personal experience) you make between 80k to 110k. Your salary is between the 80K - 90K at least? Sorry if the question is too personal, this coming semester I am starting a CLS master program and I am having second thoughts about the payment. I know nurses and PA make much more.
I’m in Georgia so the cost of living isn’t as high as up north, I think the range here is more like 75-95k avg. I don’t get the point of comparing health professions. A PA/NP is gonna make more because they do way more in terms of patient care lol. The lab-equivalent profession is Pathologist Assistant (Path-A), maybe check that out.
@@domilarae Thank you for the information! Yes I will defitenetly going to check that out.
What country are you from?
United States