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The differences between assistant athletic trainers and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an assistant athletic trainer, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an assistant athletic trainer has an average salary of $47,132, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an assistant athletic trainer include rehabilitation, student athletes and CPR. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $47,132 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $22.66 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 56,499 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
An assistant athletic trainer is responsible for assisting the head athletic trainer in guiding the athletes to achieve their maximum potential and capabilities that would help them win competitions. Assistant athletic trainers handle injury circumstances and evaluate the athletes' conditions during every session and support the head trainer to mitigate injury risks by implementing training protocols and regulations. They monitor the adequacy of inventories and equipment maintenance, ensuring enough resources for training activities. An assistant athletic trainer may also perform administrative duties, such as scheduling appointments, filing medical paperwork, and coordinating with institutions for competition opportunities.
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.
Assistant athletic trainers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $47,132 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $62,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Lemoore, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Alaska |
| Best paying company | The Brearley School | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an assistant athletic trainer and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Athletic Training | Nursing |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between assistant athletic trainers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | 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 | 10% | 8% |