Certified pharmacist technician vs medical laboratory technician

The differences between certified pharmacist technicians and medical laboratory technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical laboratory technician has an average salary of $51,780, which is higher than the $37,059 average annual salary of a certified pharmacist technician.

The top three skills for a certified pharmacist technician include patients, direct supervision and math. The most important skills for a medical laboratory technician are medical laboratory, patients, and ASCP.

Certified pharmacist technician vs medical laboratory technician overview

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Medical Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$37,059	$51,780
Hourly rate	$17.82	$24.89
Growth rate	5%	16%
Number of jobs	113,033	88,721
Job satisfaction	-	3.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Associate Degree, 55%
Average age	38	44
Years of experience	-	12

What does a certified pharmacist technician do?

A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.

What does a medical laboratory technician do?

A medical laboratory technician is responsible for assisting medical health professionals in conducting laboratory tests to diagnose patients' conditions and provide treatments. Medical laboratory technicians ensure the sanitation of all the tools and equipment before conducting tests. They collect adequate blood samples and specimens, analyze fluid elements, utilize laboratory equipment safely, create reports of findings, and alert medical personnel and medical technologists of emergency conditions. A medical laboratory technician must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry disciplines and processes to perform sensitive tasks and release accurate medical results.

Certified pharmacist technician vs medical laboratory technician salary

Certified pharmacist technicians and medical laboratory technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Medical Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$37,059	$51,780
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $50,000	Between $37,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Dignity Health	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and medical laboratory technician education

There are a few differences between a certified pharmacist technician and a medical laboratory technician in terms of educational background:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Medical Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Associate Degree, 55%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science
Most common college	-	University of Maryland - College Park

Certified pharmacist technician vs medical laboratory technician demographics

Here are the differences between certified pharmacist technicians' and medical laboratory technicians' demographics:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Medical Laboratory Technician
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 11.9% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and medical laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Certified pharmacist technician example responsibilities.

Manage return authorizations of expire and damage drugs to send back to vendor or Walgreens distribution center.
Secure and manage PYXIS systems during facility emergencies.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Experience in patient intake, data entry, dosage calculations, Rx clarification, billing, adjudicate claims, and dispensing.
Fill prescriptions under guidance a register pharmacist using intercom.
Fill PYXIS machines on every floor of the hospital in a timely and accurate manner

Medical laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing office functions through strong knowledge of PACS, Fuji CR, and EMR systems.
Accomplish constant multitasking between phlebotomy, reception and lab on a daily basis while providing outstanding customer communication skills.
Conduct clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and specimen analysis in hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, serology and immunology.
Experience in the areas of chemistry, hematology, serology, urinalysis, coagulation and microbiology specimen preparation.
Serve as rotational general laboratory technician in urinalysis, serology, chemistry, hematology, coagulation, microbiology, and shipping.
Pass and receive ASCP MLT certification upon graduation.

Certified pharmacist technician vs medical laboratory technician skills

Common certified pharmacist technician skills

Patients, 22%
Direct Supervision, 10%
Math, 8%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Inventory Control, 4%
RX, 4%

Common medical laboratory technician skills

Medical Laboratory, 10%
Patients, 10%
ASCP, 9%
Clinical Laboratory, 8%
MLT, 6%
Patient Care, 4%

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Certified Pharmacist Technician
Certified Pharmacist Technician vs Medical Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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