process technician

technician

laboratory technician

clinical laboratory scientist

technologist

ARUP Laboratories

I love working for ARUP. I know plenty of people who don't. Every workplace falls prey to bad management, but ARUP makes up for it in genuine care to its employee base.

THE GOOD:
 If you manage to find yourself in a fun position/lab with a caring supervisor, you'll never want to leave. At ARUP, you're WELL taken care of. Benefits include an on-site health clinic that is free to use for employees and their spouse/children, that also provides mental healthcare and physical wellbeing (gym, dietary coaches, personal trainers, etc). You have a WIDE variety of schedules to choose from, ranging from 7-on-7-off graves shifts, to part time morning shifts, and everything in between. Getting bored of your work? Switch labs! Learn something new! You receive quarterly bonuses, annual raises, and the opportunity to grow within the company with completely reimbursed tuition if you are in school for medical laboratory science, and 50% reimbursement for any other field. Most supervisors are very caring and understanding towards most situations, and will do everything they can to accommodate you if you are a good employee. ARUP genuinely wants its employees to be happy and healthy, and upper management does so much to make that happen. Other than the great benefits, the work is interesting! On an entry level basis, you have so many options. Vaguely curious about cancers or molecular diseases? Integrated Oncology and Genetics could be perfect for you. Want to learn more about Celiac disease, or other autoimmune diseases? The Immunology division has you covered. I enjoy the work I do, even if it can be mundane and boring, because I'm constantly learning and experiencing in the medical field, while being well taken care of as an employee. 

THE BAD:
At ARUP, if you have a bad supervisor, work can become unbearable. Most of the time, I feel that the benefits make up for it. However, I've seen friends and coworkers get fired for ridiculously unfair situations while others get away with everything-- from sleeping every day, to no-call no-showing, to straight up watching NSFW videos while working-- and still being employed. Coworkers were fired on a whim despite being hard workers, simply because the department management didn't like them. The higher ups don't handle anything with individual cases, which means that ARUP is prone to individual management issues, more so than I feel with other companies. It's so important to make good impressions on your supervisors; it almost feels MORE important than being a hard worker.

OVERALL: 
I still love working for ARUP after 2.5 years and 2 different departments. I plan to stay here all through college, both because of the benefits and because I love the culture and my work here. However, I have seen bad management cases too often for it to just be a small coincidence. I can count 8 just off the top of my head, and I've only ever worked in two departments. ARUP provides so much for its employees on a general level, but has so much room to improve on the individual basis. 
I definitely recommend working here! Do not be put off by management issues, because you can change departments, and there are so many to choose from. ARUP is a really amazing company to work for. I continue to recommend it to all of my friends and family. I love it here. 

When I first started at ARUP, I worked as a Processing Technician in Specimen Processing. The training lasted roughly 6 weeks, and then I hit the floors. It’s important to know that Specimen Processing is one of the largest departments in the company with hundreds of individuals. There are plenty of support roles, and people who are paid to help you when you start. Which means there are plenty opportunities to get raises(annual, performance, and inflation based raises), and promotions. There are also a ton of different schedules you can work, and this creates an awesome work life balance! But the drama is very similar to high school and can be cutthroat! Especially, back in 2022, when they were in the process of refining their management. It’s also something to expect when you have that many people working together. My best advice is to STAY OUT OF IT! Remember, these are your coworkers and only a handful will ever be your friend. Remaining professional in person and through Microsoft teams is essential! I left the department in 2023, due to the drama (also because I was young and needed to grow up a bit). Switched to a client services role. Which was the biggest mistake I ever made. Since Client Services had such a small department, the schedules were not flexible and there was no room for moving up. Smaller departments have smaller budgets, which means that raises in this department were very small and they would set unrealistic expectations for their employees to even get the raises. But the coworkers in this department were way better, and much nicer. I ultimately ended up leaving this department due to extremely poor management, who protected abusive employees as long as they did their job and didn’t complain. I left ARUP for a few years, grew up a bit, and ended up getting in contact with my supervisor from Specimen Processing who recommended I come back. After putting thought into it, I realized that I did love working in Specimen Processing. Not only is the job incredibly rewarding and interesting. But I had the best work life balance, got 4 raises in under 2 years, and met people who had truly changed my life for the better. So I went back. I’m older and a bit wiser, which means I keep to myself unless my help is requested and I do my job to the best of my abilities. I worked on my communication skills and stopped caring about what others thought of me. This mindset has done wonders for me, and if you can do the same, you will love working for ARUP too. You just need to decide if you want to work in a large or small department. Both have their own pros and cons. 

There's a lot of nepotism. If you're not an upper level member of the LDS church and/or related to a senior employee, you won't be treated well or advance in the company. It's even more the case if you work anywhere outside the medical centers or the labs. 

Additionally, the environment is extremely cutthroat. None of the department heads get along and other pass the buck onto each other or blame their own employees. When I got hired, they claimed the stress-level was high because of the volume of work performed on a regular basis. Admittedly, there is a lot of work, but it is nothing I found unmanageable or torturous. If anything, I felt the stress-level was largely created and exacerbated by all of the unnecessary in-fighting and office politics. More often than not, an employees' ability to be able to do their work is often impeded by an incompetent manager or another employee. Arup infamously has a tendency to hang on to every single employee they hire, regardless of whether or not they actually are qualified and capable, and expect the other workers to pick up the slack if they refuse to do the jobs themselves. Essentially, the best way to be seen as a good employee is to do your job well, keep your head down, and say nothing negative whatsoever, even when they ask for suggestions on how to improve the work environment. 

The only perks I can think of are the bonuses and that they pay for you to go through a lot of training. I was paid poorly but received bonuses ranging from $200-700 per month depending on how much I had exceeded my quota. It still wasn't enough to pay for rent, but it was good for my commute. The additional training is a great perk, depending on the department and your line of work, but it is unlikely to give you any sort of pay perks. At least you'll get the education and experience needed to find a job with a healthier work environment and better pay.

The benefits are the best you'll ever get. If youre in want of quality health insurance and health care, look no further. Every employee gets access to the "family health clinic" where all employees, their spouses and children recieve completely free basic health care, from iuds to basic check ups. Its actually surprising, some of the stuff they do there, i would just look into it your self. 
The job it self is super chill. I never feel like i have management breathing down my neck, but also i work graves and i've heard different things about days.
The pay is mid, it can be okay to live on if you dont have any other mouths to feed other than your own, but its extra strenuous if you have kids and youre all on your own, the stressful thing is, there isnt a lot of room for raises and promotions that give you a considerable pay bump. I know people here that have been here for 5 years and are only making 23 as a manager, when i started, i was making a little less than 20 with my graves shift differential.  Pretty much your only option to make some serious money here (like 30 dollars an hour) is to go through their mls program. They'll reimburse your tuition 100% to get a bachelors in medical laboratory science, or you can get an associates degree with a certificate as a medical lab technician with still really good pay. The only trouble is, if you fail any classes, or decide you dont want to do it anymore, its all up to you to pay it off. And not only that but you'll have to balance school with a job, you dont have to work full time so theres that, but good luck paying your loans, waiting for that reimbursment to kick in after you maybe pass all your classes, while also trying to pay rent and feed your kids, that will be hard enough to afford while even just working full time, maybe impossible honestly, with the wages they're paying. Its iffy even if you didnt have kids and just lived on your own. All in all your best chance at making it to upper middle class with this job is to take on serious financial risk and have basically no free time. But if you're just looking for a stable job that can get the bills paid, then this is it

Working at ARUP I was always excited to go to work and sad that I had to leave. 

I try to learn a new thing every week. 
1.      Takes responsibility for all samples coming off the sorters.

·         For refrigerated and/or frozen samples, highlight in pink, sort as to lab or instrument and place in the appropriate areas in the refrigerators and freezers at the sorter area for laboratory pickup

·         For samples that are marked as room temperature, deliver to the laboratory that performs the test

2.      Takes responsibility for all samples going back on the track for storage.

·         Loads samples on the track for storage in such a manner as not to overload the system

·         Checks samples before they are placed on the track thus ensuring that the samples will not get caught in the modules or be sent to the reject lane

3.      Stores samples in the AS/RS system, in automated and manual modes.

4.      Become proficient in the use of Pathnet, ESP Checkout, ESP Storage, ESP RACS, APX GUI, and ESP Inquiry.

5.      Learn to perform critical Biomedical engineering tasks.

6.      Learn the basic mechanics of the AS/RS storage system and AutoLab track system.

7.      Separates STC’s for the Specimen Processing Departments use.

8.      Rotates between the North, Central, South, and West sorter as defined by workflow.

9.      Maintains and clears the reject lane as needed.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Management was never there because we work night shifts but when they were there I couldn't wait to go home.
 
My co-workers was very nice and fun to work with. If they were having a bad day I would try and make them laugh. We would also hang out side of work to go eat after work, talk and hang out.

The hardest part of the job is when I did something wrong. I learn what I did wrong and learn how to do it right and make sure it won't happen again. Also crawling under the track.

The most enjoyable part of the job all of it. If I could go back I would. Best job I ever had.

Pros
ARUP has historically been a strong employer in Utah, known for its inclusive culture and supportive work environment. I genuinely enjoy the work I do and feel confident in my role. My team members are a major highlight—they are knowledgeable, collaborative, and great to work with. The benefits package is also a strong point, including generous PTO, holidays, sick leave, and a solid 401(k) plan. While salaries tend to be average to slightly below market, the benefits help offset this.

Cons
In recent years, several corporate policy changes have had a noticeable impact on employee morale. A number of long‑term employees have left, taking valuable experience and institutional knowledge with them. Major decisions—such as strict return‑to‑office requirements and the move to half‑wall cubicles—have been implemented with limited employee input. The new cubicle design has resulted in increased noise and distractions, making it difficult for many employees to stay focused.
Employee feedback does not always feel encouraged or acted upon, and there is a growing sense that leadership is shifting toward a more top‑down approach. This marks a change from the collaborative and supportive culture ARUP was once known for, and it has affected the overall feeling of inclusion and engagement among staff.

Advice to Management
Rebuilding employee trust and morale will likely require more open communication, opportunities for employee input, and a renewed focus on the inclusive culture that made ARUP such a strong workplace in the past. Increasing transparency around major decisions and actively considering employee feedback could make a meaningful difference.

Working night shift at ARUP was a great experience, and it helped me learn how an esoteric medical testing laboratory runs on a skeleton crew. As a pre-analytic technician, it was my duty to act as a buffer between the specimens coming in for testing and the actual testing bench. I would receive a wide range of specimens, evaluate their stability, process them, review testing orders, and perform many other tasks including analyzer maintenance and troubleshooting. 

Testing included both manual and automated techniques, and I worked very closely with the testing bench every shift concerning workflow, analyzer function, lab work flow, results, and any other specific concerns. It was also my job to coordinate and collaborate to complete shared testing between multiple labs (within the company).

Worked very closely with co workers for ten hour shifts, although shifts were staggered. Got to know everyone very well and formed a tight night shift due to the low staffing volume.

The hardest part of the job was learning how different everything works at night than in the day. I was trained during a day shift, and had to adapt very quickly to the workflow and responsibilities of night shift.

The most enjoyable part was getting to know the patterns that make a laboratory run like a well-oiled machine. Laboratory science isn't often portrayed to the public in an accurate manner, but that knowledge has changed my understanding of patient care, and what it takes to get medical testing results into the right hands, and with a fast turn around time.

They really see anyone in SR as expendable in terms of accommodations or pay, especially anyone who started earlier than mid 2021 when they dramatically increased their starting pay and did not increase current employee's pay nearly enough. A friend who I referred started nearly a year and a half later than me was on the same shift as me and had equal pay; I held a higher position and helped train them. 

At the same time, they will never properly reprimand any employee for any type of work inappropriate talk (racism/ableism/sexism/transphobia/homophobia/ect). The only thing they will do is offer their target a chance to change shifts and have a meeting to give them a slap on the wrist. It definitely creates a toxic work culture of gossiping and warning people of who to avoid. More often than not they excuse it as the person being stressed, or ignorance, or in my personal experience - excusing an autistic man because he "can't understand" boundaries, when multiple of their targets are also autistic and understand the meaning of no.

However it's fairly easy to rise in management within SR, but mostly because their turnover rate for management is ridiculously high due to under staffing and stress.

That being said, I do think its SR is an okay job if you're only planning to stay a few years and keep your head down, as the benefits are great and you can wear headphones. It's also decent pay for a year or two for not requiring a degree and not being customer service.

During my time here at Arup the only thing I think that was decent enough was the benefits , other than that the management was horrible in Specimen Processing, There wasn’t a day ever they would tell you you’re doing a great job , they would only remind you everyday about your mistakes and how poorly you are doing . The atmosphere here was very edgy and weary . Place is full of cliques who think they are better than everyone,  no one will talk to you , you cannot even have a laugh or have a bit fun or seem so happy because people here apparently hate there lives and don’t like to be around joyful happy people and will tell on you .
My coworkers were targeted and supervisors did a horrible job at managing the situation , they had no communication skills whatsoever and did not support in any way .  The supervisors were quick to jump to conclusions and accusing of things said instead of figuring out the problem like mature adults . anyway unless you would like to feel like you’re in high school all over again with people telling on you for everything and then straight to being fired then this is your place . I myself called HR back after being fired to fight for my job back and the words from this HR person was exactly as said “ What you have to say will not benefit you , will not help you in anyway and I’m sure this is very embarrassing and humiliating and will not change the outcome of employment and will only be feedback so this doesn’t happen to anyone again” Sucks that I had to be one of test monkeys so they could now prevent this .  Also the pay was definitely not enough for what you were doing .

Healthcare is absolutely horrible.  To get a half decent premium rate you have to subject to annual exams, but the coverage is horrible.  Anywhere outside their family clinic is going to cost you up to your yearly deductible, and the waitlist to be seen at the clinic is ridiculous.  You get what you pay for.   There is a ton of turnover because of poor management and terrible hours and expectations.  Many of the labs I have seen are always in a crisis mode to hire vacant positions.  Security at the company is an absolute farse.  The parking is not well monitored, people have breakins and even have catalytic converters stolen off their vehicles while at work.  Last nights shooting in the parking lot really showed that the company does not know how to handle an emergency situation.  They announced there was an emergency once, but then never gave any updates to employees to ease any fears until it was all over about 50 minutes later.  They could have let the employees know when the situation was safety and contained (which was immediately), but instead they had some employees scared for their lives for 50 minutes.  Some employees didn't even care and were still roaming the halls.  I fear for my safety in the hands of their security, and safety in the labs during normal days is a joke also.  Incompetence is rewarded.  After lasts nights handling of the security, which was the last straw for me, there will be another vacant position.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Process technician 415 salaries reported	$17.34 per hour
Technician 187 salaries reported	$17.23 per hour
Laboratory technician 131 salaries reported	$19.23 per hour
Clinical laboratory scientist 194 salaries reported	$30.54 per hour
Technologist 83 salaries reported	$21.37 per hour

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