Medical and pharmaceutical technicians

How to become a medical and pathology laboratory technician

Official title: Medical and pathology laboratory technicians

Also called: Blood-bank technician, Cytology technician, Medical laboratory technician, Pathology technician

Medical and pathology laboratory technicians perform clinical tests on specimens of bodily fluids and tissues in order to obtain information about the health of a patient or cause of death.

Main tasks

Conducting chemical analysis of body fluids, including blood, urine and spinal fluid, to determine presence of normal and abnormal components
Operating, calibrating and maintaining equipment used in quantitative and qualitative analysis, such as spectrophotometers, calorimeters, flame photometers and computer-controlled analysers
Entering data from analysis of laboratory tests and clinical results into record-keeping systems, and reporting results to medical practitioners and other health professionals
Analysing samples of biological material for chemical content or reaction
Setting up, cleaning and maintaining laboratory equipment
Analysing laboratory findings to check the accuracy of the results
Establishing and monitoring programmes to ensure the accuracy of laboratory results, and developing, standardizing, evaluating and modifying procedures, techniques and tests used in the analysis of specimens
Obtaining specimens, cultivating, isolating and identifying microorganisms for analysis
Examining cells stained with dye to locate abnormalities
Inoculating fertilized eggs, broths, or other bacteriological media with organisms

Ways in

Licence or registration: Registering body: Allied Health Professions Council and its boards. Law: Allied Health Professions Ordinance (專職醫療業條例), Cap. 359. Summary by Peernovo; check the body's current rules.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: HK$27,000 a month
About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a medical and pathology laboratory technician?

Not always. 35% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a medical and pathology laboratory technician?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026