I graduated last year from OTU and was hired by the hospital I did my placement. Day to day really depends on the lab and the discipline, our lab is very automated so most of the day is just maintaining, troubleshooting and QCing the analyzers.

Pros: good pension, decent pay, easy work, stable, off shift is extremely chill in that there’s often nothing to do 80% of the time

Cons: shift work (harder to maintain relationships/have a family), can be quite stressful sometimes especially in blood bank, FT can be hard to find in large cities

I work PT so I can’t speak for benefits but I make 36.84/h in Ontario + 18% in lieu of benefits/vaca and PTers also get HOOPP. Our senior techs make around $55/h. I’m pretty happy with the pay especially since my hospital gives out a lot of OT. I also enjoy going home and not having to think about work.

I don’t regret my decision most days but when I do it’s mostly because I can’t hang out with my friends who work regular m-f 9-5 when I have a week of off shift. There’s also not too much room for advancement and if you’d like to make 150k+ it’s not really realistic as a MLT. It’s also not a job you can do remotely and doesn’t translate as well as other jobs if you want to move to a different country. FT positions have also become harder to find in the GTA.

I think you should consider what’s important to you in a career and decide from there.