FlightWay / Careers / Cytogenetic Technologists
Healthcare
Cytogenetic Technologists
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.
- Sector: Healthcare
- Preparation: Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed
- O*NET code: 29-2011.01
What you'll actually do
The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.
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Documenting/Recording Information
central to the job — rated 88/100 for importance.
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Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
central to the job — rated 85/100 for importance.
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Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
a major part of the work — rated 85/100 for importance.
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Analyzing Data or Information
a major part of the work — rated 83/100 for importance.
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Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
a major part of the work — rated 80/100 for importance.
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Getting Information
a major part of the work — rated 80/100 for importance.
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.
What it takes
Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.
Skills
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Reading Comprehension
Needed at a high level (64/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
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Critical Thinking
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 72/100 for importance.
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Writing
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
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Active Listening
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.
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Speaking
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.
Knowledge
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Biology
Needed at a high level (70/100), and rated 80/100 for importance.
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Chemistry
Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 64/100 for importance.
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English Language
Needed at a solid working level (53/100), and rated 55/100 for importance.
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Computers and Electronics
Needed at a solid working level (53/100), and rated 54/100 for importance.
Abilities
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Oral Comprehension
Needed at a high level (63/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
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Near Vision
Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
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Written Comprehension
Needed at a solid working level (59/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
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Information Ordering
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
How people get in
O*NET places this occupation in Zone 4 — considerable preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.
Education
A four-year bachelor's degree is the usual entry ticket.
Experience
Two to four years of related work, internships or research on top of the degree.
Training
Most of the learning happens before you are hired, not after.
What it pays
These are typical healthcare compensation bands by employer tier — sector-level figures, not a measured salary for Cytogenetic Technologists specifically. Treat them as the shape of the market, then check a real posting for the number.
Mayo Clinic · Johns Hopkins
$130k – $300k
Regional Health Systems
$100k – $180k
Clinics & Private Practice
$80k – $130k
How the work tends to run
Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.
- Most of the day happens at a screen.From “Working with Computers”
How FlightWay scores your fit against this
No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.
- 1. You answer a short quiz
- Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
- 2. We correlate the two profiles
- Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Cytogenetic Technologists. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
- 3. The number you see is personality fit only
- "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
- 4. Every factor is visible
- You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.
More in Healthcare
See your fit for Cytogenetic Technologists
Ten questions, about 90 seconds. You get your match against Cytogenetic Technologists and 782+ other real careers — with the reasoning shown.
Take the quiz Open in FlightWayOccupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.