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What is a health care technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Meredith Poppler

Health care technicians work in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, carrying out basic patient care tasks. They work as healthcare staff members in full-time positions and rotating shifts under nurses' and doctors' supervision.

You will mostly take care of administrative duties such as checking people in and out, answering the phone, and managing schedules and appointments. Keeping track of patients' files will also be your responsibility.

However, you will also be required to take care of basic patient care duties, such as setting up and monitoring equipment, checking patients' conditions, administering medication, taking samples, and many more. You will also be expected to help transport patients and assist them with basic daily tasks such as eating and taking care of their personal hygiene.

What general advice would you give to a health care technician?

Meredith PopplerMeredith Poppler LinkedIn profile

Vice President, Communications, IHRSA, The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association

The health and fitness industry was poised to have a record year before the crisis hit. That means that once the crisis is behind us, health and fitness clubs of all types will once again be hiring club managers, trainers, fitness floor supervisors, and more. The workforce has changed in that new hires may be required to do more fitness training online, in addition to in the club. Our job site, healthclubs.com/jobs still has plenty of open positions for club managers, sales and marketing people, coaches and personal trainers. If COVID-19 taught the world anything, it's that a healthy body is of the utmost importance, so people will be looking to their neighborhood fitness centers to get and stay healthy.
ScoreHealth Care TechnicianUS Average
Salary
2.9

Avg. Salary $36,553

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
10.0

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.13%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 14.26%

Hispanic or Latino 20.09%

Unknown 6.17%

White 51.91%

Gender

female 62.21%

male 37.79%

Age - 30
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 30
Stress level
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Health care technician career paths

Key steps to become a health care technician

  1. Explore health care technician education requirements

    Most common health care technician degrees

    Bachelor's

    34.5 %

    Associate

    25.9 %

    High School Diploma

    17.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific health care technician skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients16.65%
    CPR12.70%
    Plant Health12.12%
    Customer Service12.11%
    Vital Signs5.43%
  3. Complete relevant health care technician training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health care technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health care technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health care technician resumes.
  4. Research health care technician duties and responsibilities

    • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
    • Maintain and operate delivery vehicle need to safely transport necessary equipment to patients on a regularly schedule basis.
    • Observe, report and document pertinent information about patients per policy, to include communication with direct supervisor and treatment team.
    • Field incoming communications, perform administrative duties such as chart upkeep and telemetry monitoring with close attention to detail and accuracy.
  5. Prepare your health care technician resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health care technician resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health care technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable health care technician resume templates

    Build a professional health care technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your health care technician resume.
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
    Health Care Technician Resume
  6. Apply for health care technician jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a health care technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first health care technician job

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Average health care technician salary

The average health care technician salary in the United States is $36,553 per year or $18 per hour. Health care technician salaries range between $27,000 and $49,000 per year.

Average health care technician salary
$36,553 Yearly
$17.57 hourly

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How do health care technicians rate their job?

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Health care technician reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2022
Pros

I like the Patient care part of the job. Seeing the patients get better and go home

Cons

Nothing


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2022
Pros

taking care of people love it been doing it for 34 years and getting patient back home and be able to return to there daily activities

Cons

patient who are real sick and not able to return home it make me sad but i make sure there stay is the best care when they are in hospital this is the only hospital they want to come to and they tell other about the best care they got


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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Cons

Nothing


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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