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The differences between laser engineers 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 laser engineer, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a laser engineer has an average salary of $85,319, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a laser engineer include MATLAB, data collection and labview. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Laser Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $85,319 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $41.02 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 4,901 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A laser engineer is one who specializes in making and developing laser devices or machines that is for laser purposes. They supervises the laser team in operating and ensuring that all laser-related equipment is functioning well. They can also specialize in doing advanced optics or optic devices. Their responsibilities include the regular monitoring and optimization of laser outputs as well as finding out a reasonable solution on how to handles laser issues that will be arising.
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.
Laser engineers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Laser Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $85,319 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $116,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Booz Allen Hamilton | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a laser engineer and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Laser Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Physics | Nursing |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between laser engineers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Laser Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.8% Female, 5.2% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 18.0% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 5% | 8% |