Clinical scientist vs certified medical technician

The differences between clinical scientists 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 clinical scientist, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a clinical scientist has an average salary of $122,388, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a clinical scientist include patients, informed consent and clinical operations. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Clinical scientist vs certified medical technician overview

	Clinical Scientist	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$122,388	$38,859
Hourly rate	$58.84	$18.68
Growth rate	17%	5%
Number of jobs	96,923	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	12

What does a clinical scientist do?

A clinical scientist's duties depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting experiments and research, gathering and preparing samples such as blood and tissues, analyzing and examining specimens through different processes, reviewing data and results, and coordinating with other scientists to develop medicines or treatments. They may also train new scientists, oversee assistants' performance, and maintain order in a laboratory. Furthermore, a clinical scientist may work in hospitals, clinics, private laboratories, learning institutions, or research facilities.

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 scientist vs certified medical technician salary

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

	Clinical Scientist	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$122,388	$38,859
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $157,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Indianapolis, IN	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Reata Pharmaceuticals	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between clinical scientist and certified medical technician education

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

	Clinical Scientist	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Biology	Nursing
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Connecticut

Clinical scientist vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Clinical Scientist	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 26.3% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	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	8%	8%

Differences between clinical scientist and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Clinical scientist example responsibilities.

Manage clinical monitors in successful completion of large international hypertension study.
Manage and work collaboratively with CRO management to initiate and update contract/consultancy agreements/amendments on an ongoing basis.
Function as member of the FDA audit preparation team in support of the filed NDA.
Conduct multiple HIPAA training sessions.
Identify grant funding opportunities and prepare scientific grant applications (NIH and non-NIH).
Review serious adverse event reports receive from other local country sectors for expediting to the FDA.

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 scientist vs certified medical technician skills

Common clinical scientist skills

Patients, 9%
Informed Consent, 6%
Clinical Operations, 5%
Oncology, 5%
Clinical Development, 5%
Clinical Data, 5%

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 Scientist vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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