Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between child protective investigators 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 a child protective investigator, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a child protective investigator has an average salary of $47,903, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a child protective investigator include patrol, social work and local law enforcement. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Child Protective Investigator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $47,903 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $23.03 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 15,938 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A child protective investigator is responsible for investigating incident reports for child-violating cases, collecting court evidence of child abuse, and keeping the child under safe custody for protection. Child protective investigators conduct field investigations by locating the area of concern, interviewing witnesses, and analyzing similar cases of violence. They coordinate with medical professionals to check the child's condition and record any signs of trauma and injuries. A child protective investigator may also attend court procedures to represent the child and testify to press charges with the abuser.
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.
Child protective investigators and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Protective Investigator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $47,903 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $61,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Camden, NJ | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Saks Fifth Avenue | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a child protective investigator and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Child Protective Investigator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Nursing |
| Most common college | SUNY at Albany | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between child protective investigators' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Child Protective Investigator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% 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% |