Participate in science clubs and competitions that help you become familiar with microscopes and allow you to practice making slides. Ask a science teacher or school counselor to help you contact science museums that are involved in research. These museums may let students view slide collections and see what goes on behind the scenes.

Volunteer or apply for part-time work at hospitals or independent laboratories to get experience in health care settings.

Conduct information interviews with cytotechnologists to learn more about the field. 

Cytotechnologists primarily examine prepared slides of body cells by viewing them through a microscope. In any single slide there may be more than 100,000 cells so it is important that cytotechnologists be patient, thorough, and accurate when performing their job. They are required to study the slides and examine cell growth patterns, looking for abnormal patterns or changes in a cells color, shape, or size that might indicate the presence of disease. In addition to analyzing Pap smears, cytotechnologists interpret specimens taken from the lung, breast, central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, bladder, body cavities, liver, lymph nodes, thyroid, and salivary glands.

While most cytotechnologists spend the majority of their workday in the laboratory, some assist doctors at patients bedsides collecting cell samples from the respiratory and urinary systems, as well as the gastrointestinal tract. They might also assist physicians with bronchoscopes and with needle aspirations, a process that uses very fine needles to suction cells from many locations within the body. Once the cells are collected, cytotechnologists may prepare the slides for microscope examination. In some laboratories, cell preparation is done by medical technicians known as cytotechnicians.

Cytotechnologists are often responsible for keeping records and filing reports. Although they usually work independently in the lab, they often share lab space and must consult with coworkers, supervisors, and pathologists regarding their findings. Most cytotechnologists work for private firms that are hired by physicians to evaluate medical tests, but they may also work for hospitals or university research institutions.