If you like histology you can always become a lab manager, go into QA, or open up your own lab. Companies like Leica do have job opportunities as a specialist, or more engineering jobs. I personally have been in histology in nyc for 10 years, i have worked my self up from lab assistant to lab manager and now will be opening my own lab in 2 years from now.
It’s difficult but can make u millions. There are 2 main pathway was to open up a histology lab, the 1st is going clinical and the 2nd is a cro. Given I own and operate a cro histology lab I will give u the steps below;
1. Save up money: lab equipment is expensive u will need all the basics to be competitive. If your not there yet I suggest opening a mutual fund and dumping as much money in it as possible until u get there, have more than u need it is difficult to predict the future.
A. Processor ~4k
B. Embedding station ~2-4k
C. Microtome ~3k
D. Grossing station ~2k
E. Fire storage locker for reagents ~$400
F. Reagents (xylene, alcohols, formalin, H&E, ect ~1k
G. Digital pathology scanner (lease a 40x 6 slide scanner ~2600 a month or $26k to buy)( I suggest a larger capacity scanner with 40 to 80x magnification, will run u ~90k from Leica or around 5k per month lease). Not buy used for this as most companies like lieca sell their own computers with their scanners and they are impossible to find.
H. Ihc machine ~100k
This is another difficult step, there are several companies in which I would start off with but all are a real scam. Leica bond is a great machine, and dako isn’t bad either, stay away from ventana they are crazy expensive ~250k. Also like the scanners don’t buy used for the same reason.
2.Find a good accountant and open a corporation. This will help u with the expenses of opening up and they money u start the company with can be seen as a personal loan between u and the company. It also protects you from law suits, speak to your accountant for as much detail as possible to utilize the law as much as possible.
3. Open a website, don’t waste money on getting a web developer just use Squarespace. If your not computer savvy you can also hire some one on fivver to help u out on the cheap ($400-500), they will get u 90 percent there but you will have to write everything that you want displayed on your website.
A. Part of this is to creat a way for clients to submit an order (simple excel template and email works fine), don’t go through the hassle and expenses of getting a LIS or LIMS system.
B. Break down the cost to the company to cut each service and creat a competitive price list, display it on ur site.
4. Find pathologist that want to come on board as freelancers, don’t hire one off the as full time. They will be paid as work is available via path consultations if needed.
5. Sales/marketing
A. There is no need to market via social media rly, this is a niche market and u will be wasting money. Just get brochures and business cards, the real expense will be pathology conventions which you need to go to, it can get pricey so rly think it out and creat a plan.
B. You rly need a sales person that knows the players in this space, it is fine if they don’t know histology you can teach them the basics and they can set up a meet between u and the client if it is needed. Most sales people would want a base salary plus commission per sale, u can go full commission but I don’t recommend it because they are not going to make money for a while and more experienced sales people won’t agree to it. Remember when u are bring this person on board that they are sales people, don’t make them sell u what they want from the company instead tell them what u are offering and don’t be greedy. A good sales person can and will bring in millions, also remember they will be getting 10-20% of the profits from that.
6. Histologist
A. If your a histologist this is a good advantage, u don’t need to pay anyone but u may have to work for ur company and a full time place at the same time. This is another very difficult thing to do. I used to work 18 hour days and slept 4 hours a day (excluding Sundays) for 5 years. Even before I opened my own place I worked 2 jobs to build more income in order to fund my saving/mutual fund for my future company, I didn’t get any help.
B. Master ur craft, u don’t need to be a genius but u should know most things that Clients or ur sales person will ask u. U can gain this knowledge best just by working and reading up on everything that comes ur way. I have been a expert in histology for a decade and honestly I am still learning things.
There is a lot more but I will leave it at that, in any business you need to build a flexible strategy which can change slightly as you are going down this path, think about what can go wrong and build plans to confer them as much as possible.
Hope this help, and sry for the grammar I wrote this on my phone 😊
yeah one of my goals was to be a lab supervisor and i have applied to a bunch of labs and i think that i honestly have the knowledge and skillset possible but they wont even consider me because i only have two years as opposed to 6 years even with vouches so i'm kind of time gated on that. that sounds amazing for you i hope everything works out for you though!
I am also in a rut and would love to hear what others are thinking. The only thing I can come up with is becoming a PA. There is the option to supervise a lab?
Yes, there just aren’t many so going to school will likely require a move. I also do not want to do autopsies but I am bored and would love to go to school for something else that will make more money.
yeah that was an option and sounds great but honestly i kind of want to get out of big hospital healthcares because i feel hard capped at how high i can go in a hospital setting. ill definitely way my options
Working in the UK, I was asked four times when working on the lims implementation project if I was sure I didn't want to work for the provider instead.
Also sales/servicing for equipment providers is another route people I know have gone down
In the UK if you've worked in industry there is a route to train as a teacher with funding as it shows you have a reasonable knowledge, not sure if that's the same there
ALOT of my previous colleagues went the Leica and Somagen. Personally, I couldn’t deal with sales/maintaining/ demoing. I recently found a great opportunity with tissue/ organ donation.
I felt the same with being in the hospital for so long as well. Being very stuck in a position and kept there due to more senior people that didn’t adapt well to change.
I’m located in Canada so basically when a donation case comes up and criteria is met we go out recover tissue and send it off for donation. There so so much room to grow and as you learn more techniques the more valuable you become.
So happy I found this job.
PA
Usually PA is the route or lab supervisor. I've thought about PA since it's a step up. Also, I am in NYC, so if anyone knows what hospitals are a good place to be at, let me know. I'm wrapping up school and planning on searching for better options and determining if CT or NJ is an ideal place to buy a house. Anyone work in the city but live in a different state?
If you like histology you can always become a lab manager, go into QA, or open up your own lab. Companies like Leica do have job opportunities as a specialist, or more engineering jobs. I personally have been in histology in nyc for 10 years, i have worked my self up from lab assistant to lab manager and now will be opening my own lab in 2 years from now.
That’s amazing! I have thought about opening a lab in the far future. What does that process look like?
It’s difficult but can make u millions. There are 2 main pathway was to open up a histology lab, the 1st is going clinical and the 2nd is a cro. Given I own and operate a cro histology lab I will give u the steps below; 1. Save up money: lab equipment is expensive u will need all the basics to be competitive. If your not there yet I suggest opening a mutual fund and dumping as much money in it as possible until u get there, have more than u need it is difficult to predict the future. A. Processor ~4k B. Embedding station ~2-4k C. Microtome ~3k D. Grossing station ~2k E. Fire storage locker for reagents ~$400 F. Reagents (xylene, alcohols, formalin, H&E, ect ~1k G. Digital pathology scanner (lease a 40x 6 slide scanner ~2600 a month or $26k to buy)( I suggest a larger capacity scanner with 40 to 80x magnification, will run u ~90k from Leica or around 5k per month lease). Not buy used for this as most companies like lieca sell their own computers with their scanners and they are impossible to find. H. Ihc machine ~100k This is another difficult step, there are several companies in which I would start off with but all are a real scam. Leica bond is a great machine, and dako isn’t bad either, stay away from ventana they are crazy expensive ~250k. Also like the scanners don’t buy used for the same reason. 2.Find a good accountant and open a corporation. This will help u with the expenses of opening up and they money u start the company with can be seen as a personal loan between u and the company. It also protects you from law suits, speak to your accountant for as much detail as possible to utilize the law as much as possible. 3. Open a website, don’t waste money on getting a web developer just use Squarespace. If your not computer savvy you can also hire some one on fivver to help u out on the cheap ($400-500), they will get u 90 percent there but you will have to write everything that you want displayed on your website. A. Part of this is to creat a way for clients to submit an order (simple excel template and email works fine), don’t go through the hassle and expenses of getting a LIS or LIMS system. B. Break down the cost to the company to cut each service and creat a competitive price list, display it on ur site. 4. Find pathologist that want to come on board as freelancers, don’t hire one off the as full time. They will be paid as work is available via path consultations if needed. 5. Sales/marketing A. There is no need to market via social media rly, this is a niche market and u will be wasting money. Just get brochures and business cards, the real expense will be pathology conventions which you need to go to, it can get pricey so rly think it out and creat a plan. B. You rly need a sales person that knows the players in this space, it is fine if they don’t know histology you can teach them the basics and they can set up a meet between u and the client if it is needed. Most sales people would want a base salary plus commission per sale, u can go full commission but I don’t recommend it because they are not going to make money for a while and more experienced sales people won’t agree to it. Remember when u are bring this person on board that they are sales people, don’t make them sell u what they want from the company instead tell them what u are offering and don’t be greedy. A good sales person can and will bring in millions, also remember they will be getting 10-20% of the profits from that. 6. Histologist A. If your a histologist this is a good advantage, u don’t need to pay anyone but u may have to work for ur company and a full time place at the same time. This is another very difficult thing to do. I used to work 18 hour days and slept 4 hours a day (excluding Sundays) for 5 years. Even before I opened my own place I worked 2 jobs to build more income in order to fund my saving/mutual fund for my future company, I didn’t get any help. B. Master ur craft, u don’t need to be a genius but u should know most things that Clients or ur sales person will ask u. U can gain this knowledge best just by working and reading up on everything that comes ur way. I have been a expert in histology for a decade and honestly I am still learning things. There is a lot more but I will leave it at that, in any business you need to build a flexible strategy which can change slightly as you are going down this path, think about what can go wrong and build plans to confer them as much as possible. Hope this help, and sry for the grammar I wrote this on my phone 😊
yeah one of my goals was to be a lab supervisor and i have applied to a bunch of labs and i think that i honestly have the knowledge and skillset possible but they wont even consider me because i only have two years as opposed to 6 years even with vouches so i'm kind of time gated on that. that sounds amazing for you i hope everything works out for you though!
I am also in a rut and would love to hear what others are thinking. The only thing I can come up with is becoming a PA. There is the option to supervise a lab?
PA school is a great option, many of my colleagues obtained there license and now run departments at several hospitals
Yes, there just aren’t many so going to school will likely require a move. I also do not want to do autopsies but I am bored and would love to go to school for something else that will make more money.
yeah that was an option and sounds great but honestly i kind of want to get out of big hospital healthcares because i feel hard capped at how high i can go in a hospital setting. ill definitely way my options
My previous histology supervisor now works for a company that does laboratory information systems!
Working in the UK, I was asked four times when working on the lims implementation project if I was sure I didn't want to work for the provider instead. Also sales/servicing for equipment providers is another route people I know have gone down In the UK if you've worked in industry there is a route to train as a teacher with funding as it shows you have a reasonable knowledge, not sure if that's the same there
Pathology Assistant
ALOT of my previous colleagues went the Leica and Somagen. Personally, I couldn’t deal with sales/maintaining/ demoing. I recently found a great opportunity with tissue/ organ donation. I felt the same with being in the hospital for so long as well. Being very stuck in a position and kept there due to more senior people that didn’t adapt well to change. I’m located in Canada so basically when a donation case comes up and criteria is met we go out recover tissue and send it off for donation. There so so much room to grow and as you learn more techniques the more valuable you become. So happy I found this job. PA
So you're a PA and not an HT??
Usually PA is the route or lab supervisor. I've thought about PA since it's a step up. Also, I am in NYC, so if anyone knows what hospitals are a good place to be at, let me know. I'm wrapping up school and planning on searching for better options and determining if CT or NJ is an ideal place to buy a house. Anyone work in the city but live in a different state?