Front office assistant vs certified medical technician

The differences between front office assistants and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a front office assistant, 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 $32,913 average annual salary of a front office assistant.

The top three skills for a front office assistant include patients, customer service and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Front office assistant vs certified medical technician overview

	Front Office Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$32,913	$38,859
Hourly rate	$15.82	$18.68
Growth rate	-5%	5%
Number of jobs	149,847	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does a front office assistant do?

Front office assistants typically work and perform their duty within the office. They do office support duties like welcome and greet customers, answer phone calls, and schedule and plan appointments. It is their responsibility to sort mails, route calls, and listen to voicemails. They need to organize and give out communications promptly. Also, they do clerical tasks, manage inventory, and maintain their work area. They must be keen to details, can multitask and have excellent communication and customer service skills.

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.

Front office assistant vs certified medical technician salary

Front office assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Office Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$32,913	$38,859
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between front office assistant and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a front office assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Front Office Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Connecticut

Front office assistant vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between front office assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Front Office Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 53.3% 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	6%	8%

Differences between front office assistant and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Front office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Ensure compliance with HIPAA and OSHA regulations to improve customer relations and promote favorable patient/physician interactions.
Download all transcription for the physicians and mail out letters and patient consults.
Utilize knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT coding by verifying explanation of benefits render to patient, for insurance purposes.
Collect co-pays, enter update demographics into EHR/EMR, enter ICD-9 and CPT codes as needed into patient records electronically
Verify insurance to include commercial and Medicaid.

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.

Front office assistant vs certified medical technician skills

Common front office assistant skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Patient Demographics, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Front Desk, 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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Front Office Assistant
Front Office Assistant vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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