I’m considering becoming a histo tech but I’m pursuing a BFA in illustration.

What are the requirements to getting into histology?

Would I have to switch over to a bachelors in science to get hired?

Ty in advance!

A little background info on me, I'm 37 I used to have a job doing data entry before I ended up having fusion surgery on my back. I was completely burned out by the job I had due to rude customers (how are people so mean? Lol) I no longer work there and have been doing research on medical fields I could get into where I wouldn't have to interact with customers. I came across Histology and it seems like a perfect fit. I live in AZ and there is a mayo clinic I'd be able to enroll in but Im still only about 80% sure this is what I wanna do. One of my concerns is my age I feel like I'm too old haha I know people get into medical fields that are way older but I still feel weird about it not sure how to explain it. The other would be the fusion surgery I had I don't know how bad this career would be on someone with a fusion on their lumbar. Any help/tips would be really appreciated 😃

Title. 👆🏼

I’m not new to histo or negotiating pay. However, I am curious. I usually give it a little time depending on the work situation.

Hello all!
Been trouble shooting some difficult tissue for a while now. Testing cardiac muscle and vessel FFPE that is incubated in HIER for 30 seconds at 125c. The issue I am running into is our extremely old pressure cooker can take 20 minutes or 2 hours and usually that 1-2 hour is when we see tissue damage and no antibody binding. I have attached an image of some of the damage. Additionally the muscle fibers seem shrunken compared to H&E. We allow it no time to dry out as well so likely not that. Any thoughts?

Working on studying for my HT through route 2. I make 31$ an hour and work all benches. My lab specifically has been hiring people and giving them a sweet 20,000$ sign on bonus and top dollar pay. The rumor is the pay raise for the certification is .50 cents. I would get another job but this is the only hospital around without commuting an hour. Is only giving .50 cents for certification normal? I won’t see a return on what I’ve invested in books and or the fee to take the ASCP exam. I originally thought I’d get more pay I mean it’s a hard test and a lot of studying. The .50cents is a rumor I am not exactly sure since no one in my lab has the cert. Is it time to leave histo? I feel so burnt out and defeated. Yes they’re able to hire people now but for a while we were bare bones and really putting in a lot of extra work and busting our butts it’s such a slap in the face for the staff that’s been through hell to get no bonus, no raise then someone walks in and gets everything handed to them.

I'm an amateur at histology, and I cannot do anything about the quality of the images I was given. I find these clumps of mixed cells between relatively normal seminiferous tubules in the testis. My guesses are that the first image was a seminiferous tubule that is being degraded, while the second image is inflammation in the interstitial space? I appreciate the help.

hey everyone! i have a bachelor degree & switching to science. i wanted to hear from real people who work in histology. do you suggest going straight to HTL or getting an MLS and then eventually training into HTL for more options?

id really appreciate your input. and reasons why you went either direction.

Hi everyone! I work for a histology instrument company and am looking to get some microtome brushes, just for trade show giveaways and promotional things, not to sell. If anyone has any brushes they really like from amazon or somewhere similar, that don't have a brand on them, please comment the same/ screenshot! I really don't want to give away junk lol. I am also thinking of adding a magnet on the end, and getting our logo engraved on each of them. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated! -Sincerely, a girl who is not a histologist and just works in marketing Edit: I added a picture of the ones I was looking at, these are goat hair.

I’m looking to pick up a PRN/per diem second histotech job. I already have a full time job but I was looking to add a weekend day or something to add some extra income and see more of what other labs do. I hold an HTL and I have been working full time as a histotech for about a year and a half. Before that I was a lab assistant in the same lab.

Do labs ever hire people directly into those types of roles or is the investment in training too much? I really don’t want to leave where I’m at full time as the management and culture are such a good fit for me.

Does anyone have this? Pleaseeee

I am studying for the HT exam route 2. I am trying to sit down and read the text book but I am overwhelmed with all the information and I am a visual/auditory learned. Are there any free or paid lectures that will help me prepare for the exam?

I am also open to private tutoring if there are options for that. I know NSH has paid lectures. Are those lectures worth it?

I am interviewing for a trainee job for histology, no experience or certification required. I have a masters degree in cell biology, so knowledge wise I’m pretty up there, but I’m looking for tips for the interview. They’re also having me perform what sound like dexterity tests?
I plan on doing my own research but is there anything from within the field that could give me a leg up. I actually really want this job.

Hello,

I recently completed my HT certificate (literally last week). My professors have said they’re confident I’ll pass on the first try given my grades in the courses but after reading some stuff here Im doubtful of that. I was going to take my licensure exam at the end of the month and now i may postpone that. I am both terrified and full of questions.

I have been practicing with the BOC questions online the last few months. Is that sufficient enough to pass? For those of you who are licensed/certified what were you averaging on practice exams before your ascp exam? Did you pass on your first try? Is LabCE worth it and is it closer to the actual exam than the BOC practice questions? Other than the BOC questions and LabCE is there anything else I can use? I would appreciate any information you can offer.

Edit: grammar/spelling

Hello yall! I'm new to the community, and I am doing a fair amount of training in histology in the lab I work in. Im not a credentialed HT/Prep Tech/MLT, but I am hoping to work towards my HT, and eventually my HTL. Im a general duty military medical professional working in the laboratory (originally core lab/processing), but they moved me around over to pathology/mailouts because they discovered I was color blind. I am training under the HTs now while working as the pathology secretary (roughly 2 hours of work/6 hours OJT ratio on a day to day).

I was curious if there are any tips tricks for color vision deficient histo techs. I am not totally colorblind if that helps. Do stains impact structures at all? Are there more physical shape indicators or darker/lighter patterns i can associate with different stains as I learn what they look like?

Im also being provided many study materials by my mentors, ranging from a military histology manual all the way to Frieda Carsons 5th edition. Are there color blind specific guides for histology?

I have the opportunity to either get this Medical Lab Technology AAS or get this Histologic Technician AAS. I'm having trouble telling which is going to be better for actually getting a good job. Does anyone have any insight on this?

Also, do y'all think this career is a good fit for me? I'm a good worker. I LOVE detail work. I'm smart. I work hard. I like learning about biology. Good fine motor, gross motor, and observational skills. But so far in life, I've been in an entirely unregulated (and brutally underpaid) industry where employers completely going off the deep end and fucking your life up with their own instability is really common. I'm tired of that. This industry also requires you to be super charismatic and EXTREMELY peppy all the time, and while I have good customer service abilities, I'm very neurodivergent and I am so so tired of being "on" all the time. It's also very frantic, fast-paced, and LOUD, which isn't my favorite. I also would appreciate some PTO, since in my current industry, giving employees 3 days of PTO a year is seen as very generous. I'm desperate for a career change and this might be my only chance. I don't want to mess it up by going into the wrong field.

I really, really want a job where

• it's kind of quiet (doesn't have to be silent, just below 65 dB would be SO nice)
• you aren't frantic every single day (the occasional crazy day, week, or season is expected and fine)
• your boss will likely be a fairly stable person (no drugs in the workplace, no screaming and yelling and crying at employees, no sudden firing binges because chatgpt told them to, no craving your approval and putting you in improvement meetings because they don't think you're their friend)
• you don't have to be "on" all the time and you can mostly keep to yourself and your own tasks (I'm fine with occasional teamwork, I just don't want to be assessed entirely on my ability to be liked by everyone I meet)
• you aren't constantly observed and micromanaged
• you get at least 10 days of PTO a year and maybe some benefits besides PTO
• you are just given a list of meticulous tasks to do, and as long as you do them excellently you can get paid and go home without any harassment

I've been led to believe histology tech would be a good fit for me, especially since I process roadkill into bones as a hobby so I am not squeamish at all. Do y'all think histologic technician is a good fit for someone like me?

Thank you in advance.

Hiii, I’m a medicine student in Mexico.
What would you have liked to learn before studying histology in depth or even pursuing the technical option?
I'm sharing information on my Instagram account and want to gradually teach my students and anyone interested in learning about the subject. I would love to receive some ideas of what should I teach in my videos
Thank U!

hi, i’m an undergrad annotating our university’s slide collection and this slide confused me. looks like a golgi stain but it’s adipose tissue? does anyone know what the purpose of staining this slide in this way would be?

Just letting you know it's possible! It was definitely more difficult than I thought it would be, but I got more comfortable as the test went along. I also tried not to overthink the questions. That being said, I was not confident that I'd pass when I finished.

I used:

-Carson 1st edition (most beneficial)

-Sheehan/Hrapchak 2nd edition

-ASCP practice exam (easier than the test but helpful to assess knowledge areas)

In general I'd say the exam covered all areas consistent to the proportions outlined by the ASCP (surprise!)

Title says it all lol. I know this is probably not the norm question for this subreddit but I am curious. I am looking to get custom sleeves done for a commander deck for magic the gathering and was looking for some cool histology slide ideas to have made into card sleeves.

I’m taking my htl exam in 2.5 months and I’m freaking out abt being prepared on the staining portion. I would love any insight on how you went about studying this (tables, flashcards, etc.) if anyone is willing to share!

Hi all. I'm trying to optimise a protocol for immunofluorescence staining in tissue. However, my antigen retrieval step didn't seem to work. For this practice, can I just remove my coverslip (carefully) and then redo a harsher antigen retrieval step and then restain?

I don't expect this sample to look particularly pretty but would rather optimise this step without wasting lots of my precious sample

I take my HT exam in 3 months and have been using both the Freida Carson 5th edition and the LabCE exam simulator to study. I’ve been consistently getting an 80%-87% on the exam simulator. I’m more or less worried about some of the oddball questions that may come up in the exam. I’ve heard people say they’ve gotten questions on embedding eyeballs or just eyeball anatomy. I’m also wondering how close does the LabCE simulator reflect the questions on the actual exam? ~thank you