Office technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between office technicians 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 an office technician, 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 $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.

The top three skills for an office technician include data entry, patients and office equipment. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Office technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Office Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$34,956	$38,859
Hourly rate	$16.81	$18.68
Growth rate	-5%	5%
Number of jobs	82,512	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does an office technician do?

An Office Technician handles installation and repair tasks by using power tools and manual equipment safely and effectively. Besides installing, maintaining, and repairing central office equipment, an office technician also installs, tests, and labels cable lines. They deactivate, activate, and maintain office equipment. Other duties performed by office technicians include removing non-functional and unused office equipment, managing equipment stations and telecommunication rooms cabling, and maintaining inspection, repair, maintenance, and installation documents. Also, these professionals work as per environmental, safety, and health policies.

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.

Office technician vs certified medical technician salary

Office technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$34,956	$38,859
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $48,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Anchorage, AK	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Motorola Solutions	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Construction	Health Care

Differences between office technician and certified medical technician education

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

	Office Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Connecticut

Office technician vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Office Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%

Differences between office technician and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Office technician example responsibilities.

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Interact with SCO divisions, other agencies and campuses and the public, to resolve distribution problems concerning mail and payroll.
Communicate payroll information with employees.
Verify eligibility and coverage with Medicaid and Medicare.
Certify to perform refraction to patients participating in clinical trials.
Provide patients with surgical and procedural information and instructions as appropriate.

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.

Office technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common office technician skills

Data Entry, 16%
Patients, 11%
Office Equipment, 7%
Office Procedures, 7%
Word Processing, 5%
Payroll, 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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Office Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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