Clinical laboratory manager vs certified medical technician

The differences between clinical laboratory managers and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a clinical laboratory manager, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a clinical laboratory manager has an average salary of $79,359, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a clinical laboratory manager include CLIA, patients and test results. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Clinical laboratory manager vs certified medical technician overview

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$79,359	$38,859
Hourly rate	$38.15	$18.68
Growth rate	28%	5%
Number of jobs	96,325	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	6	12

What does a clinical laboratory manager do?

A clinical laboratory manager supervises the work of laboratory technicians and scientists. Clinical laboratory managers develop safety policies of laboratories in line with the international accreditation standards. They oversee administrative and budgetary responsibilities. It is their responsibility to purchase laboratory supplies or prepare ordering lists. They ensure that the employees follow the standards and regulations set by the industry. The managers need to develop include knowledge in solving technical problems, time management, and maintain technical equipment.

What does a certified medical technician do?

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.

Clinical laboratory manager vs certified medical technician salary

Clinical laboratory managers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$79,359	$38,859
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $114,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	Agilent Technologies	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between clinical laboratory manager and certified medical technician education

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

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Connecticut

Clinical laboratory manager vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Clinical Laboratory Manager	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.8% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	12%	8%

Differences between clinical laboratory manager and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Clinical laboratory manager example responsibilities.

Lead and guide in developing quality improvement programs to continue delivering high quality services to physician and patients.
Set up forensic DNA laboratory, train laboratory technicians in advance molecular techniques, and manage day-to-day activities of forensic DNA laboratory
Maintain LIS software updates for CPT procedure codes and ICD-9 coding.
Integrate an LIS system into the laboratory environment.
Facilitate testing of clinical trial samples in the CLIA lab for test waiting FDA clearance.
Set up auto-calculations for calculate results) and a patient means program as an additional QC.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Clinical laboratory manager vs certified medical technician skills

Common clinical laboratory manager skills

CLIA, 10%
Patients, 9%
Test Results, 8%
Hematology, 7%
Microbiology, 7%
Customer Service, 6%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Clinical Laboratory Manager vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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