Mental health technician vs health technician

The differences between mental health technicians and health technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health technician has an average salary of $37,873, which is higher than the $32,118 average annual salary of a mental health technician.

The top three skills for a mental health technician include patients, vital signs and CPR. The most important skills for a health technician are patients, excellent interpersonal, and customer service.

Mental health technician vs health technician overview

	Mental Health Technician	Health Technician
Yearly salary	$32,118	$37,873
Hourly rate	$15.44	$18.21
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	103,710	110,277
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	34	34
Years of experience	-	-

What does a mental health technician do?

A mental health technician's primary responsibility is to provide care and assistance to patients with mental health issues. Their tasks mainly revolve around administering scheduled and prescribed medication, monitoring vital signs, assisting during therapy sessions, and assessing patients' progress and behavior. They may also have administrative support tasks such as processing necessary documentation, preparing reports, managing schedules, and even reaching out to patients' guardians and families. A mental health technician may also build a healthy rapport with patients, giving them guidance and positive influence.

What does a health technician do?

A health technician is responsible for supporting medical operations in a health care facility by performing administrative and clerical duties, ensuring that the organization provides the highest quality care service to the patients. Health technicians process patients' information, manage their medical payments, monitor their conditions as instructed by physicians, maintain an organized medical chart, administer medication, and assist in conducting medical procedures. They also check the adequacy of stock inventories and write request reports, as well as inspecting the cleanliness of all the medical tools and equipment during operations.

Mental health technician vs health technician salary

Mental health technicians and health technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Technician	Health Technician
Average salary	$32,118	$37,873
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Massachusetts
Best paying company	CARE	Meta
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between mental health technician and health technician education

There are a few differences between a mental health technician and a health technician in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Technician	Health Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Psychology	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Emory University

Mental health technician vs health technician demographics

Here are the differences between mental health technicians' and health technicians' demographics:

	Mental Health Technician	Health Technician
Average age	34	34
Gender ratio	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%	Male, 30.9% Female, 69.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between mental health technician and health technician duties and responsibilities

Mental health technician example responsibilities.

Prevent and manage aggressive behavior among patients and administer CPR in emergency intervention.
Assist and organize workshops consisting of education, personal self-defense, CPR, and other techniques relating to mental health patients.
Assist in taking care of mental health patients, doing rounds on the ward, helping patients with compassion and care.
Apply immeasurable levels of compassion to preserve and safeguard the dignity of patients at all times.
Observe patient behaviors, if patients become physically violent, CPI training restraint techniques may become necessary.
Conduct patient rounds, assist with ADL care, offer therapeutic support, and provide written reports on assign patients

Health technician example responsibilities.

Maintain and manage medical and administrative records for all patients assign to clinic area to assure accurate care and patient confidentiality.
Supervise labs, diets, schedule radiology procedures, EKG's, respiratory, and medical tasks for patients.
Can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, and/or initiate appropriate emergency alert notifications.
Administer ABA therapy for children with autism and provide support for other technicians when not with own clients.
Assist providers in direct physical examinations, minor procedures, emergency care to include CPR, and other clinical duties.
Assist children with autism spectrum disorders in learning life still and helping them transition successfully in all aspects of their lives.

Mental health technician vs health technician skills

Common mental health technician skills

Patients, 26%
Vital Signs, 7%
CPR, 6%
Social Work, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%
Patient Safety, 4%

Common health technician skills

Patients, 18%
Excellent Interpersonal, 8%
Customer Service, 8%
Blood Pressure, 6%
Veterans, 6%
Vital Signs, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Mental Health Technician
Mental Health Technician vs Health Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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