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The differences between instrument technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an instrument technician and a certified medical technician. Additionally, an instrument technician has an average salary of $56,918, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an instrument technician include patients, surgical instruments and cleanliness. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Instrument Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $56,918 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $27.36 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | - | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 45,965 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An instrument technician is an individual who is responsible for testing, repairing, and inspecting all manufacturing equipment to ensure proper operations of the machines. Instrument technicians collaborate with engineers to develop and produce equipment design and provide advice to process technicians about equipment operation. They remove defective equipment so that they can decontaminate and replace the damaged ones with new machines. They are also required by their employer to obtain certification in the field of instrumentation technology.
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.
Instrument technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instrument Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $56,918 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $83,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Phillips 66 | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an instrument technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Instrument Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Nursing |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between instrument technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Instrument Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 8% | 8% |