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Medical esthetician vs laser technician

The differences between medical estheticians and laser technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical esthetician has an average salary of $39,890, which is higher than the $37,370 average annual salary of a laser technician.

The top three skills for a medical esthetician include patients, laser hair removal and product sales. The most important skills for a laser technician are patients, customer service, and laser equipment.

Medical esthetician vs laser technician overview

Medical EstheticianLaser Technician
Yearly salary$39,890$37,370
Hourly rate$19.18$17.97
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs47,66724,920
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%Associate Degree, 35%
Average age3545
Years of experience-2

What does a medical esthetician do?

A medical esthetician specializes in skincare and works mostly within the field of dermatology. They are required to offer a number of services, including recommending procedures, providing consultations, diagnosing skin conditions, providing treatments, and reducing aging effects. They are responsible for developing treatment plans to suit a variety of clients' needs.

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.

Medical esthetician vs laser technician salary

Medical estheticians and laser technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical EstheticianLaser Technician
Average salary$39,890$37,370
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $61,000Between $30,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City-West Fargo, ND
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between medical esthetician and laser technician education

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

Medical EstheticianLaser Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%Associate Degree, 35%
Most common majorCosmetologyElectrical Engineering
Most common college-California State University - Long Beach

Medical esthetician vs laser technician demographics

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

Medical EstheticianLaser Technician
Average age3545
Gender ratioMale, 4.0% Female, 96.0%Male, 47.8% Female, 52.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.7% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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%
LGBT Percentage9%6%

Differences between medical esthetician and laser technician duties and responsibilities

Medical esthetician example responsibilities.

  • Manage the aesthetics department and perform consultations with patients regarding aesthetic and facial surgery procedures.
  • Assist the physician in daily dermatology medical practice involving surgery, Botox, laser, biopsies, and patient care.
  • Assist surgeon in administering collagen and botox.
  • Deliver informative education to patients regarding multiple skincare product lines and treatments/procedures offer within the medical practice.
  • Assist in the execution of special events, seasonal gift with purchase within Nordstrom and holiday programs.

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.
  • Show more

Medical esthetician vs laser technician skills

Common medical esthetician skills
  • Patients, 16%
  • Laser Hair Removal, 10%
  • Product Sales, 8%
  • Skin Care Products, 6%
  • IPL, 5%
  • Eyelash Extensions, 5%
Common laser technician skills
  • Patients, 19%
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Laser Equipment, 8%
  • Laser Safety, 7%
  • Laser Hair Removal, 6%
  • Surgical Procedures, 5%

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