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The differences between health care technicians and patient care assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health care technician has an average salary of $36,553, which is higher than the $32,799 average annual salary of a patient care assistant.
The top three skills for a health care technician include patients, CPR and plant health. The most important skills for a patient care assistant are patients, vital signs, and PCA.
| Health Care Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $36,553 | $32,799 |
| Hourly rate | $17.57 | $15.77 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 173,122 | 261,345 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Average age | 34 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 3 |
A health care technician works with laboratory equipment used for the analysis of specimens for diagnosis. The health care technician's role is an integral part of a health care facility as all proper diagnosis stems from accurate laboratory results. Included with a healthcare technician's tasks is to take vital signs, collect samples, and work closely with doctors during patient consultations and check-ups. The health care technician typically works inside a laboratory and is expected to keep the area clean and all equipment is all in working order.
A patient care assistant is responsible for attending patients' needs with the supervision of a health care professional. Duties of a patient care assistant also include performing basic medical tasks such as taking patients' temperature, monitoring food intake, preparing medicines, recording health conditions, assisting on lab tests and other medical procedures, and providing information and important updates to the patient's family. A patient care assistant must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties efficiently and accurately.
Health care technicians and patient care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Health Care Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average salary | $36,553 | $32,799 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $23,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chelmsford, MA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a health care technician and a patient care assistant in terms of educational background:
| Health Care Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between health care technicians' and patient care assistants' demographics:
| Health Care Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average age | 34 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2% | Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 15% | 7% |