CCollegeMatcher

Phlebotomists

US occupation · SOC 31-9097

Job titles people report: Lab Liaison Technician, Mobile Examiner, Patient Service Technician (PST), Phlebotomist Lab Assistant (Phlebotomist Laboratory Assistant), Phlebotomy Technician (Phlebotomy Tech), Registered Phlebotomist, Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT)

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$45,230
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$38,190 – $48,930
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
143,540
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+6.8%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
18,000
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Postsecondary nondegree award
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.

Main tasks

  • Confirm the identities of patients by verifying their personal information.
  • Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes.
  • Dispose of contaminated sharps, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, and policies.
  • Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies.
  • Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels.
  • Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.
  • Organize or clean blood-drawing trays, ensuring that all instruments are sterile and all needles, syringes, or related items are of first-time use.
  • Enter patient, specimen, insurance, or billing information into computer.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Postsecondary nondegree award
O*NET Job Zone 3
Medium preparation
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Health & Nursing

  • Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk