Animal keeper vs certified medical technician

The differences between animal keepers 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 keeper, 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 $30,829 average annual salary of an animal keeper.

The top three skills for an animal keeper include animal husbandry, zoo animals and animal exhibits. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Animal keeper vs certified medical technician overview

	Animal Keeper	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$30,829	$38,859
Hourly rate	$14.82	$18.68
Growth rate	28%	5%
Number of jobs	5,971	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	32	44
Years of experience	3	12

Animal keeper vs certified medical technician salary

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

	Animal Keeper	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$30,829	$38,859
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $45,000	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 keeper and certified medical technician education

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

	Animal Keeper	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Biology	Nursing
Most common college	Cornell University	University of Connecticut

Animal keeper vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Animal Keeper	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	32	44
Gender ratio	Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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 keeper and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Animal keeper example responsibilities.

Manage complicated water filtration systems, and implement nutrition plans for a variety of snake species.
Prepare diets according to USDA guidelines to help maintain foodsupplies and animal weights.
Aid in vaccinations, wind treatment, artificial insemination procedures, castrations, tagging and tattoos.
Assist in producing illustrations and animation material to develop tutoring videos for math and physics.
Help with incoming pets as well as with the adoption of the pet by their forever home families.

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 keeper vs certified medical technician skills

Common animal keeper skills

Animal Husbandry, 17%
Zoo Animals, 11%
Animal Exhibits, 10%
Exotic Animals, 6%
Animal Handling, 5%
AZA, 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 Keeper vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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