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Overview
Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Phlebotomists typically do the following:
- Draw blood from patients and blood donors
- Talk with patients and donors to help them feel less nervous about having their blood drawn
- Verify a patient’s or donor’s identity to ensure proper labeling of the blood
- Label the drawn blood for testing or processing
- Enter patient information into a database
- Assemble and maintain medical instruments such as needles, test tubes, and blood vials
- Keep work areas clean and sanitary
Phlebotomists primarily draw blood, which is then used for different kinds of medical laboratory testing. In medical and diagnostic laboratories, patient interaction is sometimes only with the phlebotomist. Because all blood samples look the same, phlebotomists must carefully identify and label the sample they have drawn and enter it into a database. Some phlebotomists draw blood for other purposes, such as at blood drives where people donate blood. In order to avoid causing infection or other complications, phlebotomists must keep their work area and instruments clean and sanitary.
Salary
Median salary: $36,320 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $30,610 and $42,130.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for phlebotomists
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Phlebotomists
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of phlebotomists who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Consequence of Error (90%)
- Time Pressure (87%)
- Exposed to Disease or Infections (86%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (82%)
- Unpleasant or Angry People (77%)
- High Conflict Frequency (55%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (45%)
- Hazardous Conditions (41%)
- Physically Aggressive People (32%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Phlebotomists? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Compassion
Some patients or clients are afraid of having their blood drawn, so phlebotomists should be caring in performing their duties.
Detail oriented
Phlebotomists must draw the correct vials of blood for the tests ordered, track vials of blood, and enter data into a database. Attention to detail is necessary; otherwise, the specimens may be misplaced or lost, or a patient may be injured.
Dexterity
Phlebotomists work with their hands, and they must be able to use their equipment efficiently and properly.
Hand–eye coordination
Phlebotomists draw blood from many patients, and they must perform their duties successfully on the first attempt, or their patients will experience discomfort.
Physical stamina
Phlebotomists are on their feet for long periods, and must continue to take accurate blood samples throughout their workday.
Injury and Illness
About 100 phlebotomists become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 81% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
All multiple traumatic injuries
Bruises and contusions
Soreness and pain
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by phlebotomists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), phlebotomists typically hold a postsecondary nondegree award.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as phlebotomists as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for phlebotomists
Almost all employers prefer to hire phlebotomists who have earned professional certification.
Several organizations offer certifications for phlebotomists. The National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT), National Healthcareer Association (NHA), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), National Phlebotomy Association, and American Medical Technologists (AMT) offer Phlebotomy Technician certifications.
Candidates for certification typically need some classroom education, as well as some clinical experience. Certification testing usually includes a written exam and may include practical components, such as drawing blood. Requirements vary by certifying organization. California, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington require their phlebotomists to be certified.
Education level of Phlebotomists
Only 10% of phlebotomists have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by phlebotomists
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click the program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Phlebotomists per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most phlebotomists? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as phlebotomists. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where phlebotomists earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for phlebotomists compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for phlebotomists.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which phlebotomists earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Phlebotomists (ACS)
Employment
18% of Phlebotomists are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 18% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 63% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of phlebotomists by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Phlebotomists and gender
With 85% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 94% of careers.
Gender of Phlebotomists
Men (15%)
Women (85%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%.
The situation is a little better for phlebotomists, with the
median salary for men 5%
higher than the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Phlebotomists
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Phlebotomists.
Race/origin of phlebotomists
White (61% )
Black (25% )
Other (4% )
Asian (4% )
Multiracial (3% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
