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The differences between equipment maintenance technicians 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 an equipment maintenance technician, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an equipment maintenance technician has an average salary of $45,945, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an equipment maintenance technician include equipment maintenance, hand tools and preventive maintenance. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Equipment Maintenance Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $45,945 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $22.09 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 168,523 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
An equipment maintenance technician is responsible for ensuring the stability and efficiency of all production tools and equipment to support smooth business functions and operations. Equipment maintenance technicians conduct regular maintenance for optimization, repair defective components, and inspect equipment parts to identify possible upgrades and replacements. They also assemble equipment and machinery, requiring them to have excellent mechanical and critical-thinking skills to analyze schematics and blueprints accurately. An equipment maintenance technician must be highly communicative and organizational, especially in adhering to the highest safety standards and protocols during operations.
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.
Equipment maintenance technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Equipment Maintenance Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $45,945 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $60,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hayward, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Vicor | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an equipment maintenance technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Equipment Maintenance Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between equipment maintenance technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Equipment Maintenance Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.7% Female, 5.3% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 4.3% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 | 2% | 8% |