Food service specialist vs certified medical technician

The differences between food service specialists and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $29,286 average annual salary of a food service specialist.

The top three skills for a food service specialist include kitchen equipment, preventive maintenance and MOS. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Food service specialist vs certified medical technician overview

	Food Service Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$29,286	$38,859
Hourly rate	$14.08	$18.68
Growth rate	2%	5%
Number of jobs	95,112	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	37	44
Years of experience	-	12

What does a food service specialist do?

The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.

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.

Food service specialist vs certified medical technician salary

Food service specialists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Service Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$29,286	$38,859
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $43,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	Brookhaven National Laboratory	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between food service specialist and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a food service specialist and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Food Service Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Food service specialist vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between food service specialists' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Food Service Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	37	44
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.7% White, 58.0% 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	10%	8%

Differences between food service specialist and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Food service specialist example responsibilities.

Regulate temperatures of ovens, broilers, and grills.
Apply a vast number or USDA and USDC Standards/Specifications to determine compliance with contractual requirements.
Maintain a safe work environment for the preparation of food through sanitation and HACCP procedures.
Inspect prepared foods place on the serving line to ensure temperature and quality follow ServSafe protocols.
Utilize the techniques of roasting, broiling, frying, grilling, steaming, and baking.
Ensure that food purchase and procure for multiple units is in accordance with DOD and USDA standards and contractual documents.

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.

Food service specialist vs certified medical technician skills

Common food service specialist skills

Kitchen Equipment, 33%
Preventive Maintenance, 24%
MOS, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Cleanliness, 4%
Patients, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Food Service Specialist vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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