Animal health technician vs health technician

The differences between animal health technicians and health technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health technician has an average salary of $37,873, 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 health technician are patients, excellent interpersonal, and customer service.

Animal health technician vs health technician overview

	Animal Health Technician	Health Technician
Yearly salary	$37,267	$37,873
Hourly rate	$17.92	$18.21
Growth rate	20%	9%
Number of jobs	89,376	110,277
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	32	34
Years of experience	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 health technician do?

A health technician is responsible for supporting medical operations in a health care facility by performing administrative and clerical duties, ensuring that the organization provides the highest quality care service to the patients. Health technicians process patients' information, manage their medical payments, monitor their conditions as instructed by physicians, maintain an organized medical chart, administer medication, and assist in conducting medical procedures. They also check the adequacy of stock inventories and write request reports, as well as inspecting the cleanliness of all the medical tools and equipment during operations.

Animal health technician vs health technician salary

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

	Animal Health Technician	Health Technician
Average salary	$37,267	$37,873
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $58,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between animal health technician and health technician education

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

	Animal Health Technician	Health Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Animal Science	Nursing
Most common college	Ohio State University	Emory University

Animal health technician vs health technician demographics

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

	Animal Health Technician	Health Technician
Average age	32	34
Gender ratio	Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4%	Male, 30.9% Female, 69.1%
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, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	9%	15%

Differences between animal health technician and health 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.

Health technician example responsibilities.

Maintain and manage medical and administrative records for all patients assign to clinic area to assure accurate care and patient confidentiality.
Supervise labs, diets, schedule radiology procedures, EKG's, respiratory, and medical tasks for patients.
Can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, and/or initiate appropriate emergency alert notifications.
Administer ABA therapy for children with autism and provide support for other technicians when not with own clients.
Assist providers in direct physical examinations, minor procedures, emergency care to include CPR, and other clinical duties.
Assist children with autism spectrum disorders in learning life still and helping them transition successfully in all aspects of their lives.

Animal health technician vs health technician skills

Common animal health technician skills

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

Common health technician skills

Patients, 18%
Excellent Interpersonal, 8%
Customer Service, 8%
Blood Pressure, 6%
Veterans, 6%
Vital Signs, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Animal Health Technician
Animal Health Technician vs Health Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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