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The differences between nutrition assistants and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a nutrition assistant, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $32,229 average annual salary of a nutrition assistant.
The top three skills for a nutrition assistant include patients, kitchen equipment and food service. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Nutrition Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $32,229 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $15.49 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 7,731 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
A Nutrition Assistant makes sure that patients in a healthcare unit are fed according to their dietary needs. They assist in kitchen prep and cooking food.
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.
Nutrition assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nutrition Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $32,229 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a nutrition assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Nutrition Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Dietetics | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between nutrition assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Nutrition Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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 | 6% | 8% |