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Cytogenetic Technologists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Analyze chromosomes or chromosome segments found in biological specimens, such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, solid tumors, and blood to aid in the study, diagnosis, classification, or treatment of inherited or acquired genetic diseases. Conduct analyses through classical cytogenetic, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) or array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) techniques.

Related: Cytotechnologists Histology Technicians Histotechnologists Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technicians Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technologists

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Identify appropriate methods of specimen collection, preservation, or transport.
Extract, measure, dilute as appropriate, label, and prepare DNA for array analysis.
Input details of specimens into logs or computer systems.
Examine chromosomes found in biological specimens to detect abnormalities.
Harvest cell cultures using substances such as mitotic arrestants, cell releasing agents, and cell fixatives.
Recognize and report abnormalities in the color, size, shape, composition, or pattern of cells.
Count numbers of chromosomes and identify the structural abnormalities by viewing culture slides through microscopes, light microscopes, or photomicroscopes.
Stain slides to make chromosomes visible for microscopy.
Select banding methods to permit identification of chromosome pairs.
Prepare slides of cell cultures following standard procedures.
Apply prepared specimen and control to appropriate grid, run instrumentation, and produce analyzable results.
Arrange and attach chromosomes in numbered pairs on karyotype charts, using standard genetics laboratory practices and nomenclature, to identify normal or abnormal chromosomes.
Develop, implement, and monitor quality control and quality assurance programs to ensure accurate and precise test performance and reports.
Communicate to responsible parties unacceptable specimens and suggest remediation for future submissions.
Develop and implement training programs for trainees, medical students, resident physicians or post-doctoral fellows.
Summarize test results and report to appropriate authorities.
Determine optimal time sequences and methods for manual or robotic cell harvests.
Create chromosome images using computer imaging systems.
Analyze chromosomes found in biological specimens to aid diagnoses and treatments for genetic diseases such as congenital disabilities, fertility problems, and hematological disorders.
Recognize and report abnormalities in the color, size, shape, composition, or pattern of cells.
Select or prepare specimens and media for cell cultures using aseptic techniques, knowledge of medium components, or cell nutritional requirements.
Maintain laboratory equipment such as photomicroscopes, inverted microscopes, and standard darkroom equipment.
Communicate test results or technical information to patients, physicians, family members, or researchers.
Select appropriate culturing system or procedure based on specimen type and reason for referral.
Input details of specimen processing, analysis, and technical issues into logs or laboratory information systems (LIS).
Evaluate appropriateness of received specimens for requested tests.
Develop and implement training programs for trainees, medical students, resident physicians or post-doctoral fellows.
Develop, implement, and monitor quality control and quality assurance programs to ensure accurate and precise test performance and reports.
Prepare biological specimens such as amniotic fluids, bone marrow, tumors, chorionic villi, and blood, for chromosome examinations.
Describe chromosome, FISH and aCGH analysis results in International System of Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ISCN) language.
Select appropriate methods of preparation and storage of media to maintain potential of hydrogen (pH), sterility, or ability to support growth.
Summarize test results and report to appropriate authorities.
Supervise subordinate laboratory staff.
Archive case documentation and study materials as required by regulations and laws.
Communicate test results or technical information to patients, physicians, family members, or researchers.

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

68650/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.01/hr

Currently Employed

7,750

Yearly Projected Openings

630

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Achievement Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity
Cautiousness
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability

Binocular light compound microscopes
Counters
Cryogenic or liquid nitrogen freezers
Culture tubes
Darkfield microscopes
Deoxyribonucleic sequence analyzers
Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Digital image printers
Distillation pipings or columns or fittings
Dropping pipettes
Dry heat or hot air sterilizers
Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators
Fluorescent microscopes
Fume hoods or cupboards
General purpose refrigerators or refrigerator freezers
Histological staining apparatus
Hybridization ovens or incubators
Interferometers
Inverted microscopes
Ion exchange apparatus
Laboratory filtration hardware or accessories
Laboratory flasks
Laboratory incubator thermometers
Laboratory microwave ovens
Laboratory vials
Magnetic stirrers
Mercury vapor lamp HID
Microscope condensers
Microscope slide racks
Microscope slides
Multiwell plates
Petri plates or dishes
Photo attachments for microscopes
Pipette bulbs
Protective gloves
Refrigerated benchtop centrifuges
Scanners
Slide dryers
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
Stereo or dissecting light microscopes
Sterilization cabinets
Surgical isolation or surgical masks
Tachometers
Test tube racks
Ultra cold or ultralow upright cabinets or freezers
Ultrasonic cleaning equipment
Ultrasonic disintegrators
Vortex mixers
Water baths
pH meters

Analytical or scientific software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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