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The differences between general service 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 a general service technician, 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 $28,048 average annual salary of a general service technician.
The top three skills for a general service technician include customer service, maintenance services and strong customer service. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| General Service Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $28,048 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $13.48 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 163,387 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
General service technicians are skilled employees who are responsible for performing maintenance duties for automobiles and other light vehicles. These technicians are required to interact with customers to discuss cost estimates for performing automotive maintenance services. They must conduct visual vehicle inspections and perform any necessary repairs or replacement of automotive parts. They are required to be skillful in operating machines that mount and balance the tires of vehicles. General service technicians must also check the electrical systems of vehicles and should know how to install car batteries.
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.
General service technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Service Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $28,048 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $35,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | All American Group | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a general service technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| General Service Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between general service technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| General Service Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |