Medical language specialist vs certified medical technician

The differences between medical language specialists and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a medical language specialist and a certified medical technician. Additionally, a medical language specialist has an average salary of $47,117, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a medical language specialist include transcription, discharge summaries and dictation. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Medical language specialist vs certified medical technician overview

	Medical Language Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$47,117	$38,859
Hourly rate	$22.65	$18.68
Growth rate	11%	5%
Number of jobs	71,209	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	12	12

What does a medical language specialist do?

A Medical Language Specialist transcribes medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners. They listen to recorded dictations of medical professionals and turn them into diagnostic test results, articles, and other documents.

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.

Medical language specialist vs certified medical technician salary

Medical language specialists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Language Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$47,117	$38,859
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $61,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between medical language specialist and certified medical technician education

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

	Medical Language Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	University of Connecticut

Medical language specialist vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Medical Language Specialist	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 7.3% Female, 92.7%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 7.9% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	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	9%	8%

Differences between medical language specialist and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Medical language specialist example responsibilities.

Prepare budget and manage department's employees' time, attendance and payroll process.
Create documentation education classes to general surgery residents, increasing the leveling of reporting which lead to increase revenues.
Transcribe and edit for specialties including: cardiology, pulmonology, urology, pediatrics, psychiatry, oncology, etc.
Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology while following AAMT and HIPAA guidelines.
Type medical transcription from all medical specialties, combine with comprehensive self-pace dictation system.
Utilize voice-record dictation to transcribe and edit medical reports for several acute care hospitals.

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.

Medical language specialist vs certified medical technician skills

Common medical language specialist skills

Transcription, 11%
Discharge Summaries, 8%
Dictation, 8%
Patient Histories, 5%
Medical Reports, 5%
Acute Care Hospital, 5%

Common certified medical technician skills

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

Medical Language Specialist vs. similar jobs

Medical Language Specialist related careers

Medical Language Specialist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Medical Language Specialist
Medical Language Specialist vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs