Medical assistant vs certifier

The differences between medical assistants and certifiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a medical assistant, becoming a certifier takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a certifier has an average salary of $46,932, which is higher than the $34,900 average annual salary of a medical assistant.

The top three skills for a medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a certifier are pallets, loaders, and process improvement.

Medical assistant vs certifier overview

	Medical Assistant	Certifier
Yearly salary	$34,900	$46,932
Hourly rate	$16.78	$22.56
Growth rate	16%	9%
Number of jobs	189,915	7,088
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	37	42
Years of experience	12	3

Medical assistant vs certifier salary

Medical assistants and certifiers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Assistant	Certifier
Average salary	$34,900	$46,932
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $43,000	Between $25,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	Novant Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between medical assistant and certifier education

There are a few differences between a medical assistant and a certifier in terms of educational background:

	Medical Assistant	Certifier
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Business
Most common college	-	-

Medical assistant vs certifier demographics

Here are the differences between medical assistants' and certifiers' demographics:

	Medical Assistant	Certifier
Average age	37	42
Gender ratio	Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6%	Male, 43.8% Female, 56.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between medical assistant and certifier duties and responsibilities

Medical assistant example responsibilities.

Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Participate in emergency surgical intervention in obstetrics and gynecology patients.
Demonstrate proficiency in taking patient history and vitals, venipuncture, injections, urinalysis and preparing examination trays.
Attend to new out patients in gynecology clinic, make clinical diagnosis and follow up.
Provide RMA support to physician, and patients, including but not limit to vitals and patient history.

Certifier example responsibilities.

Manage facility organization and cleanliness, maximizing the utilization of the facility and the efficiency of athlete's training routines.
Report instances of abuse to DHS.
Experience in FISMA compliance reporting and relate activities.
Supervise freight forwarders to optimize DSD delivery of products.
Certify pallets of product to ensure orders are accurate prior to loading and shipment.
Coach warehouse loaders (pickers) on pallet build accuracy and coordinate loading team.5.

Medical assistant vs certifier skills

Common medical assistant skills

Patients, 20%
Vital Signs, 10%
Patient Care, 9%
Phlebotomy, 4%
CPR, 4%
EKG, 4%

Common certifier skills

Pallets, 29%
Loaders, 24%
Process Improvement, 15%
Enhance Skill, 12%
Building Practices, 7%
Community Resources, 3%