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The differences between maintenance helpers 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 maintenance helper, 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 $30,824 average annual salary of a maintenance helper.
The top three skills for a maintenance helper include hand tools, plumbing and ladders. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Maintenance Helper | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $30,824 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $14.82 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 105,592 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A maintenance helper performs basic support tasks to assist maintenance technicians in installing and repairing machines and equipment. Their responsibilities typically include gathering and handing tools, changing fixtures such as light bulbs and faucets, preparing workspaces, and cleaning work areas and equipment. They may also liaise with vendors or suppliers, build positive relationships with clients, and handle calls and correspondence. Moreover, maintenance helper must utilize their experiences to learn more complex tasks and gain industry insight.
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.
Maintenance helpers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Maintenance Helper | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $30,824 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $40,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fairbanks, AK | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Analogic | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a maintenance helper and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Maintenance Helper | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between maintenance helpers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Maintenance Helper | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.5% Female, 10.5% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | 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 | 2% | 8% |