Medical science liaison vs certified medical technician

The differences between medical science liaisons 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 medical science liaison, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a medical science liaison include patients, medical affairs and MSL. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Medical science liaison vs certified medical technician overview

	Medical Science Liaison	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$145,718	$38,859
Hourly rate	$70.06	$18.68
Growth rate	17%	5%
Number of jobs	57,208	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	12

What does a medical science liaison do?

A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.

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 science liaison vs certified medical technician salary

Medical science liaisons and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Science Liaison	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$145,718	$38,859
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $359,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Jackson, TN	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Tennessee	Alaska
Best paying company	Saint Luke's Health System	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between medical science liaison and certified medical technician education

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

	Medical Science Liaison	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Connecticut

Medical science liaison vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Medical Science Liaison	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	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	8%	8%

Differences between medical science liaison and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.

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 science liaison vs certified medical technician skills

Common medical science liaison skills

Patients, 11%
Medical Affairs, 9%
MSL, 7%
Medical Science, 6%
Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
Internal Stakeholders, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

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

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Medical Science Liaison vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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