Animal health technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between animal health technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an animal health technician and a certified medical technician. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $37,267 average annual salary of an animal health technician.

The top three skills for an animal health technician include animal handling, IM and laboratory animals. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Animal health technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Animal Health Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$37,267	$38,859
Hourly rate	$17.92	$18.68
Growth rate	20%	5%
Number of jobs	89,376	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	32	44
Years of experience	12	12

What does an animal health technician do?

Animal health technicians work primarily in an animal diagnostics laboratory, where they test specimens according to a veterinarian's requests. The animal health technician must be capable of operating all of the necessary diagnostics equipment for animal care. The animal health technician must provide accurate results on diagnostic requests coming from a veterinarian. Added responsibilities of an animal health technician are educating owners on taking care of their pets, ensuring that all equipment is working correctly, and providing accurate results for better diagnosis.

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 health technician vs certified medical technician salary

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

	Animal Health Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$37,267	$38,859
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $58,000	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 animal health technician and certified medical technician education

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

	Animal Health Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Animal Science	Nursing
Most common college	Ohio State University	University of Connecticut

Animal health technician vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Animal Health Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	32	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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	9%	8%

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

Animal health technician example responsibilities.

Manage tech appointments, suture removal, bandage removal and placement, CPR and emergency care when need.
Blood draws, lab work, suture removal, catheter placement.
Prepare media and other analytical processes in compliance with FDA regulations guidelines.
Inspect and maintain facilities organization and operations according to FDA and clinical standards.
Administer drug, fluid and respiratory therapy to critically-ill patients in an effort to provide optimal support during anesthesia.
Perform various administrative support functions including answering telephones, checking patients in/out and responding to any inquiries and taking appointments.

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 health technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common animal health technician skills

Animal Handling, 12%
IM, 7%
Laboratory Animals, 6%
Medical Procedures, 6%
Husbandry, 5%
Euthanasia, 5%

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 Health Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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