Mental health technician vs technician

The differences between mental health technicians and technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a technician has an average salary of $38,045, 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 technician are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Mental health technician vs technician overview

	Mental Health Technician	Technician
Yearly salary	$32,118	$38,045
Hourly rate	$15.44	$18.29
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	103,710	596,842
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	34	40
Years of experience	-	2

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 technician do?

Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.

Mental health technician vs technician salary

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

	Mental Health Technician	Technician
Average salary	$32,118	$38,045
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $24,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Hawaii
Best paying company	CARE	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Health Care	Telecommunication

Differences between mental health technician and technician education

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

	Mental Health Technician	Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	-

Mental health technician vs technician demographics

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

	Mental Health Technician	Technician
Average age	34	40
Gender ratio	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%	Male, 75.2% Female, 24.8%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	2%

Differences between mental health technician and 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

Technician example responsibilities.

Achieve multiple ASE certifications within first year of employment.
Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
Manage telecommunications installation and repair for hospital Nortel network.
Maintain numerous automate scripts to assist in managing Linux systems.
Manage, troubleshot and repair multiple wireless technologies including fiber optic transmission switches.
Install peripherals including printers, fax machines, scanners, and smartphones.

Mental health technician vs technician skills

Common mental health technician skills

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

Common technician skills

Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 14%
Patient Care, 8%
Hand Tools, 6%
Diagnosis, 5%
Preventative Maintenance, 4%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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