Animal care technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between animal care technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become an animal care 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 $29,617 average annual salary of an animal care technician.

The top three skills for an animal care technician include patients, animal husbandry and pigs. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Animal care technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Animal Care Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$29,617	$38,859
Hourly rate	$14.24	$18.68
Growth rate	28%	5%
Number of jobs	96,973	164,424
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	32	44
Years of experience	3	12

What does an animal care technician do?

An animal care technician is an animal medical professional who is responsible for providing care to animals in the clinical or research setting. Animal care technicians take blood or stool samples from animals and run laboratory tests to determine the cause of an ailment. They often take charge of bathing and grooming animals as well as administer anesthesia before procedures. Animal care technicians are also required to speak to the pet's owners to help them understand the diagnosis and administer medication.

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.

Animal care technician vs certified medical technician salary

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

	Animal Care Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$29,617	$38,859
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $40,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Oregon	Alaska
Best paying company	Emory University	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between animal care technician and certified medical technician education

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

	Animal Care Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Biology	Nursing
Most common college	New York University	University of Connecticut

Animal care technician vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Animal Care Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	32	44
Gender ratio	Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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	11%	8%

Differences between animal care technician and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Animal care technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Train in safety procedures for blood borne pathogens, GLP and GMP certification, and ISO standards.
Familiarize with the strains of various animal species to include rats, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs.
Interview prospective adopting families while counseling on animal welfare and responsibilities of pet owners.
Maintain knowledge of CPR procedures and evacuation procedures.
Assist with minor emergency procedures, perform CPR.

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.

Animal care technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common animal care technician skills

Patients, 10%
Animal Husbandry, 9%
Pigs, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Animal Handling, 5%
GLP, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

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

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Animal Care Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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