Alignment technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between alignment technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an alignment technician, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $38,020 average annual salary of an alignment technician.

The top three skills for an alignment technician include customer service, hand tools and power steering. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Alignment technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Alignment Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$38,020	$38,859
Hourly rate	$18.28	$18.68
Growth rate	1%	5%
Number of jobs	143,585	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does an alignment technician do?

Alignment Technicians are responsible for the alignment process of wheels and tires of a vehicle. Their duties include completing work repair orders, driving vehicles to the wheel alignment rack, and administering regular tests of the bent axle, bent steering rods, worn ball joints, and faulty wheel alignment. They are also involved in straightening axles, adjusting shims, straightening steering rods, and joining pins to undertake new parts installation or wheel alignment. They also perform counterweights hammering, shock absorber installations, and frame straightening. Other duties may include ensuring work complies with factory standards, attending product training by the manufacturer, and safely operating equipment and tools.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Alignment technician vs certified medical technician salary

Alignment technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Alignment Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$38,020	$38,859
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $57,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between alignment technician and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between an alignment technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Alignment Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Alignment technician vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between alignment technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Alignment Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	2%	8%

Differences between alignment technician and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Alignment technician example responsibilities.

Repair wheels using grinders, sanders and paint equipment.
Straighten bend or damage alloy wheels.
Assist with MIG welding and exhaust work.
Perform all general lube and oil filter changes.
Used a grinder and DA sanders to remove damage from rims.
Clean and resize bearing fillet and dust guard seat using various grinders.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Alignment technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common alignment technician skills

Customer Service, 39%
Hand Tools, 34%
Power Steering, 10%
Customer Vehicles, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 4%
Diagnosis, 1%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Alignment Technician
Alignment Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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