Driver/material handler vs certified medical technician

The differences between driver/material handlers 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 driver/material handler, 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 $36,219 average annual salary of a driver/material handler.

The top three skills for a driver/material handler include CDL, customer orders and inventory control. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Driver/material handler vs certified medical technician overview

	Driver/Material Handler	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$36,219	$38,859
Hourly rate	$17.41	$18.68
Growth rate	7%	5%
Number of jobs	198,718	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	43	44
Years of experience	4	12

What does a driver/material handler do?

Primarily, driver/material handlers help maintain the production and distribution of products through inventory pullout, production materials, and supplies delivery, and finished product staging. Material handlers manage the transport of equipment or ammunition and conduct the planning and execution functions for effective grind force training. They pick and audit hazmat materials and deliver them to their customers. Also, they develop and expedite clear and effective communication with their customers.

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.

Driver/material handler vs certified medical technician salary

Driver/material handlers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Driver/Material Handler	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$36,219	$38,859
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $45,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Santa Clara, CA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Merck	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Automotive	Health Care

Differences between driver/material handler and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a driver/material handler and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Driver/Material Handler	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Driver/material handler vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between driver/material handlers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Driver/Material Handler	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	43	44
Gender ratio	Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 2.6% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	4%	8%

Differences between driver/material handler and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Driver/material handler example responsibilities.

Manage temporary staff doing warehouse work and train and test them in order to receive forklift certification per OSHA.
Load and unload LTL freight from inbound and outbound trailers.
Operate forklifts in transferring loading and unloading materials in LTL.
Pick and audit hazmat and international orders.
Handle emergency hazmat situations requiring quick decision making skills.
Stack and move pallets from different lines with different products documenting quantity and quality while participating in a team environment.

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.

Driver/material handler vs certified medical technician skills

Common driver/material handler skills

CDL, 21%
Customer Orders, 11%
Inventory Control, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Safety Rules, 7%
Pallets, 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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Driver/Material Handler
Driver/Material Handler vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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