Care associate vs customer care technician

The differences between care associates and customer care technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a care associate, becoming a customer care technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a customer care technician has an average salary of $34,986, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a care associate include patients, vital signs and PCA. The most important skills for a customer care technician are patients, vital signs, and EKG.

Care associate vs customer care technician overview

	Care Associate	Customer Care Technician
Yearly salary	$32,558	$34,986
Hourly rate	$15.65	$16.82
Growth rate	9%	-4%
Number of jobs	192,391	211,764
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	42	40
Years of experience	3	12

What does a care associate do?

Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.

What does a customer care technician do?

The job of a customer care technician depends on the requirements of employers. Part of the technician's responsibilities includes the management of the customers and the maintenance of proper customer relations. Customer care technicians assist customers in addressing their technical problems. The job involves answering phone calls and attending to the needs of the clients. As to the area of employment, the technicians may work in telecommunications where they use office machines or computers.

Care associate vs customer care technician salary

Care associates and customer care technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Care Associate	Customer Care Technician
Average salary	$32,558	$34,986
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $48,000	Between $26,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Hollister, CA	Burbank, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Analysis Group	Cottage Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between care associate and customer care technician education

There are a few differences between a care associate and a customer care technician in terms of educational background:

	Care Associate	Customer Care Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	-	-

Care associate vs customer care technician demographics

Here are the differences between care associates' and customer care technicians' demographics:

	Care Associate	Customer Care Technician
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%	Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between care associate and customer care technician duties and responsibilities

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

Customer care technician example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate using electrocardiogram (EKG) equipment during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
Assist in monitoring patients for ECG arrhythmias.
Maintain all digital medical records and process all MD orders for patients on the ICU floor.
Place patients on cardiac monitor, give CPR, assist with doctors and nurses with traumas as requested.
Maintain current CPR certification, CNA/GNA certifications, and PMAB training.

Care associate vs customer care technician skills

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

Common customer care technician skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 10%
EKG, 9%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 6%
Customer Care, 5%

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Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Care Associate
Care Associate vs Customer Care Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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