Bloody Businesses: A Look at Various Careers That Involve the Study of Blood

study of blood

8 out of every 1000 people die every single day. Pretty morbid, right?

And what’s more, there’s a number of careers that then need to take those dead bodies and deal with them to ensure that cause of death is determined and that they’re properly disposed of.

As a matter of fact, dead or alive, there are a number of careers that deal directly in the bloody business of studying or working with human blood. If the study of blood and working with it sounds interesting to you, this article should help you draw your career path.

We’ve put together a list of various jobs that deal heavily in human blood!

1. Hematologist

A hematologist’s job is literally to study blood.

They can do so in the immediate sense of looking at a patient’s blood samples and helping them diagnose illnesses. They can also study blood in a more macro sense by looking at blood en-mass to help develop cures or contribute to broad medical research.

Becoming a hematologist means needing to get advanced degrees in biomedical or clinical science. You’ll also need to prepare to attend regular training to stay abreast of the latest developments surrounding the study of blood.

2. Blood Bank Technician

If you love the study of blood but don’t so much like dealing with humans, a blood bank technician could be the career prospect you’ve been looking for!

As a blood bank technician, you’ll get charged with the safe storage of blood that has been drawn from donators and sellers. You will also need to ensure that all documentation surrounding that blood is accurate and kept alongside samples.

In order to be a blood bank technician, you’ll have to get a certificate in phlebotomy and will likely need to take bloodborne pathogen training offered by places like this website.

3. Physician

When people think about working with blood in living patients, the first profession that probably comes to mind is a doctor. And there’s a good reason for that!

Doctors regularly draw blood and order various tests conducted on it based on their intimate understanding of bloodborne illnesses. They may also supervise blood transfusions, which is the process of moving donated blood into the body of patients who have lost a lot of it via injuries.

Physicians need to undergo a melody of higher education which includes a lengthy stint in medical school.

4. Phlebotomist

Becoming a phlebotomist is quickly becoming one of the best entry level jobs you can get in medicine.

As a phlebotomist, you’ll draw the blood of patients and donors as well as appropriately label that blood before it gets sent off to labs or blood banks.

Becoming a phlebotomist is popular in no small part due to the lack of advanced schooling that is required to pursue this career path. You’ll just need to go through a certification program that can be completed in months at most local institutions.

5. Morticians

If working with living specimens doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can always opt to work with dead ones.

As a mortician, you’ll need to prepare dead bodies for burial and may even need to work with forensic specialists to help determine the cause of death. And as part of your body preparation process, you’ll likely need to drain the blood of dead persons.

This job is certainly not for the faint of heart but if you’re open to working with blood and more potentially stomach-churning bodily fluids, this is a career you could enjoy.

6. Forensic Scientists

Anyone who has watched CSI has probably dreamed of becoming a crime scene investigator. As a forensic scientist, you’ll be scraping up evidence around the scene of a crime to help reconstruct exactly what took place. You’ll also look for evidence that will help you pinpoint a suspect.

If you’re looking to hyper-specialize in blood as a crime scene investigator, consider specializing in blood-spatter analysis. Blood spatter specialists are able to provide additional insight into crimes by studying how blood is arranged within crime scenes.

7. Medical Laboratory Technician

If you’re looking to dive headfirst into the study of blood without wanting to go through the schooling required to be a hematologist, then you may want to opt for becoming a lab technician.

Lab technicians get delegated work, often by hematologists, to help in the conducting of blood tests.

You can get this job after completing certification programs, and it’s an excellent stepping stone if you’re interested pursuing an advanced medical degree that will enable you to direct blood tests rather than just working on them.

Wrapping up Various Careers That Deal in the Study of Blood

Do you have a strong stomach and/or find yourself identifying with vampirism? If so, picking a career that deals directly in the study of blood could be perfect for you!

We recommend that you take the time to go over all of our careers listed above. Pick the ones that sound best for you based on job responsibilities and the amount of schooling required.

What we love above these study of blood jobs is that many of them naturally segway into one another. That means, if you start with an entry-level position amidst the fields listed above, you have a good chance of pivoting towards more advanced medical careers.

If you want to read more of the most interesting (and sometimes stomach-churning) content available online, check our more of our articles.

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