Is Medical Laboratory Technician a hard major?

Is it possible to become a Medical Scientist after becoming a Clinical Laboratory Technician?

• I was looking into careers and wanted to become a Medical Scientist and research diseases. However that requires a Ph.D. I want to have a well paying job before I go back to school for another 4 years. A clinical Laboratory Technician seems to have similar major requirements and only requires a bachelor's. Is this route possible? Thanks :)

• Answer:

  Learning to be a Clinical Laboratory Technician is a 4-year Bachelor's degree these days, and would be appropriate as a stepping stone to eventually working on a Masters and then a Ph.D. in some field of science associated with the term "Medical Scientist." You DO realize, of course, that ANYONE who works in medicine in ANY capacity is technically a medical scientist, do you not? Now if you're interested in researching diseases, then you're going to need a Ph.D. in some sort of medical field, perhaps as a Pharmacist, a Clinical Chemist, or perhaps a Biologist or Microbiologist. There is no such academic degree as a Medical Scientist. That's an all-inclusive term to describe anyone working in medical or pharmaceutical work, including research. You need to narrow down your field of interest a bit, and decide which particular area of medical science you're interested in. Working as a Clinical Lab Tech is an excellent start on that search.