Laser technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between laser technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a laser 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 $37,370 average annual salary of a laser technician.

The top three skills for a laser technician include patients, customer service and laser equipment. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Laser technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Laser Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$37,370	$38,859
Hourly rate	$17.97	$18.68
Growth rate	17%	5%
Number of jobs	24,920	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does a laser technician do?

A Laser Technician or photonic technician is a trained professional responsible for operating and keeping the laser equipment in place. An experienced individual knows about running and using laser devices for medical purposes: their responsibility is to assemble, test, recalibrate, and repair laser devices or actual lasers. They have to ensure that all tools and machines are appropriately stored.

What does a certified medical technician do?

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 technician vs certified medical technician salary

Laser technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Laser Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$37,370	$38,859
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $46,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	West Fargo, ND	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between laser technician and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a laser technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Laser Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Connecticut

Laser technician vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between laser technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Laser Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 47.8% Female, 52.2%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	6%	8%

Differences between laser technician and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Laser technician example responsibilities.

Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Build solid-state, diode end pump lasers using YAG, YLF, and YVO4 nonlinear crystals.
Operate a CNC laser welding machine which make metallic honeycomb core from sheets of aluminum, steel, and titanium.
Assist physician during dermal fillers and Botox.
Specialize training on Candela laser such as GentleLase and GentleYag.
Design, assemble, and test laser modules using SolidWorks.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Laser technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common laser technician skills

Patients, 19%
Customer Service, 15%
Laser Equipment, 8%
Laser Safety, 7%
Laser Hair Removal, 6%
Surgical Procedures, 5%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Laser Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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