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The differences between 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 athletic trainer, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an athletic trainer has an average salary of $47,028, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an athletic trainer include patients, rehabilitation and CPR. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $47,028 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $22.61 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 56,812 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
An athletic trainer is a healthcare professional who works with physicians to improve a patient's quality of life. Their profession encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chronic medical conditions involving disabilities, functional limitations, and impairments. As an athletic trainer, you will typically do various tasks, including recognizing and evaluating injuries, providing emergency care or first aid, and developing and implementing rehabilitation programs. You are also responsible for planning and implementing programs to help prevent sports injuries among athletes.
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.
Athletic trainers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $47,028 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Greenwich, CT | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an athletic trainer and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Athletic Training | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between athletic trainers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Athletic Trainer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.8% 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% |