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The differences between fitness specialists and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a fitness specialist and a certified medical technician. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $32,472 average annual salary of a fitness specialist.
The top three skills for a fitness specialist include CPR, fitness assessments and ACSM. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Fitness Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $32,472 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $15.61 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 28,175 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Fitness Specialist is focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle through exercise and working with clients in various settings. They teach individuals or groups how to properly perform exercises and use exercise equipment.
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.
Fitness specialists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fitness Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $32,472 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $42,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | University Settlement | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a fitness specialist and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Fitness Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between fitness specialists' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Fitness Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 13% | 8% |