Dietary cook vs certified medical technician

The differences between dietary cooks and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a dietary cook, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $27,365 average annual salary of a dietary cook.

The top three skills for a dietary cook include patients, food handling and food service. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Dietary cook vs certified medical technician overview

	Dietary Cook	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$27,365	$38,859
Hourly rate	$13.16	$18.68
Growth rate	16%	5%
Number of jobs	191,406	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	38	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does a dietary cook do?

A dietary cook specializes in cooking and preparing healthy meals for clients or organizations. It is their duty to follow nutritional plans and guidelines, adhere to portion and quality standards, supervise kitchen staff, and participate in delivering food to rooms or offices. They also monitor the inventory of supplies, maintain the cleanliness of different areas, and keep dishes sanitized at all times. Moreover, a dietary cook must coordinate and maintain an open communication line with fellow kitchen workers to ensure a safe and efficient workflow.

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.

Dietary cook vs certified medical technician salary

Dietary cooks and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dietary Cook	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$27,365	$38,859
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $34,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Omaha, NE	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Utah	Alaska
Best paying company	SantaFe HealthCare	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between dietary cook and certified medical technician education

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

	Dietary Cook	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Culinary Arts	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Dietary cook vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between dietary cooks' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Dietary Cook	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.2% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	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	6%	8%

Differences between dietary cook and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Dietary cook example responsibilities.

Operate mixers and manage ingredients to meet product quality and uniformity standards.
Provide attention and compassion to all resident's.
Train with culinary chefs and staff members on dinning facility services and organization.
Utilize a broad range of culinary skills to include grill and saute as well as salad and deserts.
Make sure food is prepared within the guidelines of ServSafe and residents' with special needs are tend to.
Prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for residents according to SERVSAFE and HAACP procedures and standards on a daily basis.

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.

Dietary cook vs certified medical technician skills

Common dietary cook skills

Patients, 16%
Food Handling, 16%
Food Service, 13%
Kitchen Equipment, 9%
Meal Service, 7%
Rehabilitation, 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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Dietary Cook vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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