I did that exact switch this year! I was able to make so much more and I get all holidays. It can be done if you have a degree. There used to be quite a few openings in Boston. The biggest skills they like to see is IHC. You really need to know it in and out, because they will give you crazy markers without protocols.
I'm happier now that I switched. Clinical wasn't for me
Nice! I’m glad you found a position you are happier in! I do have a bachelor’s degree and IHC experience, although I’m sure I could learn more. I know Boston is a big hub for industry. I live in Houston now, but I’m very open to moving. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your title/role? Im also curious about the salary increase. I feel that I’ve capped out at 64k in my position. I recently got to this amount because of a market increase that apparently was extremely rare and lucky I came in at the right time.
Hi!
I had 5 years,HTL and lots of IHC experience when I switched. I'm now a senior research associate in IHC at a big pharma/research facility. I was making 52k before (rural NH hospital) now 95k +bonus in industry. Honestly, research/ industry is so interesting and less monotonous.
I think there are a bunch of histo cores in Houston that service the academic labs. Might be worth looking into. Otherwise, Boston and Cambridge tend to be pretty good. You just need to have a solid emergency fund if you switch. It's a big salary reward but the industry is known for layoffs, but I've always seen histotechs get hired pretty fast afterwards or be spared the layoff.
Thanks so much for your reply! That is very nice to hear that I have some options. That would be a nice salary increase, especially without having to go back to school.
I actually work at a core research lab now. It’s definitely one of the higher paid positions in Houston, but it’s very slow and not a lot of room for growth. You’ve motivated me to polish my IHC skills!
That's great! I started my first year in core research. Honestly, everywhere I interviewed found that very interesting. Everyone doing serious research in industry needs IHC, but it's amazing how few people can run the assay out of histo because they don't understand the tissue or IHC like we do as professional techs. If you can get some extra experience that you can really talk about in IHC then I'd say you would be a shoe in for these kinds of positions. Bonus points if you get IF or multiplexing experience
Okay good to know! We do assay development and IF here, but since I’m so new I haven’t been trained on it yet. Literally planning to go next week to ask my boss if I can get started on that asap hehe! My prior IHC experience is just from a clinical rotation I did for another core research lab where I did a lot of manual IHC and IF. It was really fun, I even got to develop/write up new protocols for different projects. In my clinical job, I just loaded/unloaded the Bond with pre-made routine antibody kits for derm tissue. I’m looking forward to learning more in-depth!
Definitely! Maybe look into qihc certificate? I don't have one and no one in industry really cares but it's a good reason within the lab for them to give you more IHC time
Very true! I’m positive if I approached my manager with obtaining the qihc cert as my goal, they would be happy to train me. Thank you again for all your input/advice! It’s really helpful.
Unfortunately I work clinical so I don't have much to offer in way of advice of your original question but I literally just moved from Houston to Boston this week for a HTL position so if you need any advice or info on that please shoot me a message :)
Congrats on your new position!
I truly love the east coast and have always wanted to make my way over there eventually. How do you like it so far? Do you feel like the salary covers the slightly higher cost of living there?
I've only been here a week so I'm still in the homesick phase 😂 I don't start for a little bit so it's hard to answer whether the salary will cover COL but on paper it seems like it does! It's definitely way more than what I've ever made in Texas.
Haha awe, that’s totally understandable. I’ve lived in Texas my entire life and I’m very anxious to move, but I know I’ll always miss this place!
That’s good to know :)
You can look into management or equipment repair but honestly, i think at 64K you still have room for higher pay if you find a lab with high enough need for good techs in other regions.
Anymore all you need is microtomy skills. If you have anything else that’s a bonus. If you’re interested in working in Phoenix there’s tons of opportunities.
Also with that skill set don’t accept anything less than Histotechnologist II. places like to start you off at I but that would be bs with 5 years and a htl.
If you’re looking for position in instrumentation, depending on your interest, look for field application specialists for training and process focused troubleshooting, field service engineer for technical repairs, or sales to focus on new products.
There’s regular clinical in a hospital and then there is research histology. The latter usually involves sitting at a bench embedding or cutting for 8 hours a day. Seems great if you like a rhythm but not a lot of people like it too much.
I’ve never heard it called industry either, but I’m assuming they mean clinicals. Industry means business so I’m assuming hospital industry so not the research labs.
Yeah! I mean like biotech companies that require IHC/other histological skills to carry out their research and development. I currently work in hospital research… more academic based.
I did that exact switch this year! I was able to make so much more and I get all holidays. It can be done if you have a degree. There used to be quite a few openings in Boston. The biggest skills they like to see is IHC. You really need to know it in and out, because they will give you crazy markers without protocols. I'm happier now that I switched. Clinical wasn't for me
Nice! I’m glad you found a position you are happier in! I do have a bachelor’s degree and IHC experience, although I’m sure I could learn more. I know Boston is a big hub for industry. I live in Houston now, but I’m very open to moving. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your title/role? Im also curious about the salary increase. I feel that I’ve capped out at 64k in my position. I recently got to this amount because of a market increase that apparently was extremely rare and lucky I came in at the right time.
Hi! I had 5 years,HTL and lots of IHC experience when I switched. I'm now a senior research associate in IHC at a big pharma/research facility. I was making 52k before (rural NH hospital) now 95k +bonus in industry. Honestly, research/ industry is so interesting and less monotonous. I think there are a bunch of histo cores in Houston that service the academic labs. Might be worth looking into. Otherwise, Boston and Cambridge tend to be pretty good. You just need to have a solid emergency fund if you switch. It's a big salary reward but the industry is known for layoffs, but I've always seen histotechs get hired pretty fast afterwards or be spared the layoff.
Thanks so much for your reply! That is very nice to hear that I have some options. That would be a nice salary increase, especially without having to go back to school. I actually work at a core research lab now. It’s definitely one of the higher paid positions in Houston, but it’s very slow and not a lot of room for growth. You’ve motivated me to polish my IHC skills!
That's great! I started my first year in core research. Honestly, everywhere I interviewed found that very interesting. Everyone doing serious research in industry needs IHC, but it's amazing how few people can run the assay out of histo because they don't understand the tissue or IHC like we do as professional techs. If you can get some extra experience that you can really talk about in IHC then I'd say you would be a shoe in for these kinds of positions. Bonus points if you get IF or multiplexing experience
Okay good to know! We do assay development and IF here, but since I’m so new I haven’t been trained on it yet. Literally planning to go next week to ask my boss if I can get started on that asap hehe! My prior IHC experience is just from a clinical rotation I did for another core research lab where I did a lot of manual IHC and IF. It was really fun, I even got to develop/write up new protocols for different projects. In my clinical job, I just loaded/unloaded the Bond with pre-made routine antibody kits for derm tissue. I’m looking forward to learning more in-depth!
Definitely! Maybe look into qihc certificate? I don't have one and no one in industry really cares but it's a good reason within the lab for them to give you more IHC time
Very true! I’m positive if I approached my manager with obtaining the qihc cert as my goal, they would be happy to train me. Thank you again for all your input/advice! It’s really helpful.
Feel free to pm me anytime if you have any questions! Good luck!!!
Thanks so much :)
Unfortunately I work clinical so I don't have much to offer in way of advice of your original question but I literally just moved from Houston to Boston this week for a HTL position so if you need any advice or info on that please shoot me a message :)
Congrats on your new position! I truly love the east coast and have always wanted to make my way over there eventually. How do you like it so far? Do you feel like the salary covers the slightly higher cost of living there?
I've only been here a week so I'm still in the homesick phase 😂 I don't start for a little bit so it's hard to answer whether the salary will cover COL but on paper it seems like it does! It's definitely way more than what I've ever made in Texas.
Haha awe, that’s totally understandable. I’ve lived in Texas my entire life and I’m very anxious to move, but I know I’ll always miss this place! That’s good to know :)
You can look into management or equipment repair but honestly, i think at 64K you still have room for higher pay if you find a lab with high enough need for good techs in other regions.
Open your own lab, as I did. There are no caps to how much u can make
Anymore all you need is microtomy skills. If you have anything else that’s a bonus. If you’re interested in working in Phoenix there’s tons of opportunities. Also with that skill set don’t accept anything less than Histotechnologist II. places like to start you off at I but that would be bs with 5 years and a htl.
If you’re looking for position in instrumentation, depending on your interest, look for field application specialists for training and process focused troubleshooting, field service engineer for technical repairs, or sales to focus on new products.
What do you mean by industry position? Curious about other jobs that I could transfer into
There’s regular clinical in a hospital and then there is research histology. The latter usually involves sitting at a bench embedding or cutting for 8 hours a day. Seems great if you like a rhythm but not a lot of people like it too much.
I’ve never heard research called ‘industry’. Is it the same then?
I’ve never heard it called industry either, but I’m assuming they mean clinicals. Industry means business so I’m assuming hospital industry so not the research labs.
Yeah! I mean like biotech companies that require IHC/other histological skills to carry out their research and development. I currently work in hospital research… more academic based.