http://www.ascp.org/certification/CertifyingExaminations/

http://www.ascp.org/Certification/CertifyingExaminations/cert_procedures/default.aspx
(more CA info at the bottom of this page)

http://www.ascp.org/Careerlinks/LabCareers/default.aspx - check out this
page also.

http://www.ascp.org/Certification/pdf/booklet.pdf - requirements are in
this .pdf file

There is California information on the first two pages above. I know it
has changed in CA recently, as we just lost one of our new grads to the
San Diego area. She was fully trained in micro and <1 year out of
training. She left in May with THREE job offers, as the ASCP registry
examination now fulfills CA requirements, I've been told. It was
definitely our loss, as she was very sharp.

You will earn far more money as an M.T. (ASCP) than an M.L.T. over the
course of your career.  If you're smart enough to skip two years of
school, go for the baccalaureate degree. If you ever want to move up
into management (senior tech, team leader and above) in the future you
will be probably be passed over without at least an M.T. registration.
ASCP is the most prominent of the registrations for laboratory workers.
There are others (NCS and AMT I think). Licensing is a different issue
and that is state dependent. Testing is divided into different levels.
Highly complex testing is usually reserved for M.T.'s only in many
hospitals, so you will be limiting yourself in flexibility if you go the
MLT route.

I know that there are MLT's out there reading this and will beg to
differ with me, depending on the lab you're working in. For someone
starting out, with no family restrictions to education, I still think
M.T. is the way to go. Remember that most of the boomers will be
retiring in the next ten to fifteen years. This will leave LOTS of
openings, especially in management or senior tech positions. The more
education you have, the more likely you will be able to move into those
positions by having M.T. certification. Read that as more money and
possibly better hours available to you.

As far as an equivalent to a NP, I would have to say no, there is
nothing equivalent because we do not perform direct patient care per se.
Most laboratories have either a Chief Technologist or, if they're
larger, they have Managers over departments. I work for a large lab that
does the work for four hospitals. We have three managers that answer to
one Manager who is over all three hospitals. Each of the other hospitals
has one manager that answer to him, with team leaders underneath. ALL of
these people are M.T.'s.

All of the positions for which a registry exam is available are listed
on the site above. Starting with 2004 grads, I believe there is a
continuing education requirement that MUST be fulfilled in order to keep
your registration current. We old people have been grandfathered in. If
you specialize in one area you must include CE in other areas also. This
all must be documented and sent in to ASCP.

Hope this helps. I know others out there on this group can also comment.

Judy Dilworth, M.T. (ASCP)
Microbiology 30+ years