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Clinician vs technician

The differences between clinicians and 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 clinician, becoming a technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a clinician has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $38,045 average annual salary of a technician.

The top three skills for a clinician include social work, patients and patient care. The most important skills for a technician are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Clinician vs technician overview

ClinicianTechnician
Yearly salary$60,150$38,045
Hourly rate$28.92$18.29
Growth rate9%1%
Number of jobs105,023596,842
Job satisfaction-2
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age4540
Years of experience42

What does a clinician do?

A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.

What does a technician do?

Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.

Clinician vs technician salary

Clinicians and technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

ClinicianTechnician
Average salary$60,150$38,045
Salary rangeBetween $34,000 And $103,000Between $24,000 And $58,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Jose, CA
Highest paying stateNevadaHawaii
Best paying companyPace UniversityMicrosoft
Best paying industry-Telecommunication

Differences between clinician and technician education

There are a few differences between a clinician and a technician in terms of educational background:

ClinicianTechnician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common majorPsychologyBusiness
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long Beach-

Clinician vs technician demographics

Here are the differences between clinicians' and technicians' demographics:

ClinicianTechnician
Average age4540
Gender ratioMale, 24.3% Female, 75.7%Male, 75.2% Female, 24.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage15%2%

Differences between clinician and technician duties and responsibilities

Clinician example responsibilities.

  • Perform thorough substance abuse assessments incorporating instruments such as ASAM, SASSI and urine drug screens; provide individual therapy.
  • Spearhead the development of rehabilitation programs serving adults with chemical dependency and mental health diagnoses with the manager.
  • Follow all ethical CARF standards when treating the residential client.
  • Facilitate stabilization, assessment, care and compassion for those in critical need.
  • Provide CBT and motivational interviewing for individual and group therapy to clients' who are on methadone.
  • Used motivational interviewing to lead recovery and therapy groups for IOP and PHP programs in the evenings and on weekends.
  • Show more

Technician example responsibilities.

  • Achieve multiple ASE certifications within first year of employment.
  • Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
  • Manage telecommunications installation and repair for hospital Nortel network.
  • Maintain numerous automate scripts to assist in managing Linux systems.
  • Manage, troubleshot and repair multiple wireless technologies including fiber optic transmission switches.
  • Install peripherals including printers, fax machines, scanners, and smartphones.
  • Show more

Clinician vs technician skills

Common clinician skills
  • Social Work, 26%
  • Patients, 14%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Individual Therapy, 4%
  • Mental Health, 4%
  • Mental Illness, 3%
Common technician skills
  • Patients, 16%
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Patient Care, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 6%
  • Diagnosis, 5%
  • Preventative Maintenance, 4%

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