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The differences between emergency medical technicians and patient care technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an emergency medical technician has an average salary of $39,743, which is higher than the $32,806 average annual salary of a patient care technician.
The top three skills for an emergency medical technician include patients, CPR and EMS. The most important skills for a patient care technician are patients, vital signs, and phlebotomy.
| Emergency Medical Technician | Patient Care Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,743 | $32,806 |
| Hourly rate | $19.11 | $15.77 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 137,617 | 167,520 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 27% |
| Average age | 36 | 34 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Emergency medical technicians or EMTs are skilled medical professionals who act as first responders to injured or sick patients. They apply first aid or do emergency medical procedures upon arriving at the area where the emergency happened. For serious or grave injuries, they do not have complete medical equipment at their disposal, so they have limited capacities on the field. Despite that, EMTs do their best to ensure that patients would reach the hospital for such high-risk cases. EMTs are expected to be calm under pressure and have extensive knowledge of first aid and of basic medical procedures.
Patient care technicians are medical workers who work in clinics, hospitals, or other medical facilities under the supervision of doctors or other health professionals. They provide assistance to health professionals and patients. They help patients with mobility concerns get into hospital beds, bathrooms, wheelchairs, and more. They also help patients with their physical therapy sessions and other physical needs. They handle patient concerns and communicate these to attending physicians. They may be assigned to administer basic medical procedures such as checking vital signs and collecting samples from patients, among others.
Emergency medical technicians and patient care technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Emergency Medical Technician | Patient Care Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,743 | $32,806 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $59,000 | Between $24,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | New Brunswick, NJ | Rochester, NH |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Lewistown Hospital | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an emergency medical technician and a patient care technician in terms of educational background:
| Emergency Medical Technician | Patient Care Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 27% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | Emory University |
Here are the differences between emergency medical technicians' and patient care technicians' demographics:
| Emergency Medical Technician | Patient Care Technician | |
| Average age | 36 | 34 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1% | Male, 19.0% Female, 81.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 4.5% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 15% |