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The differences between operating room assistants and surgical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become an operating room assistant, becoming a surgical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a surgical technician has an average salary of $52,193, which is higher than the $34,177 average annual salary of an operating room assistant.
The top three skills for an operating room assistant include patients, surgery and anesthesia. The most important skills for a surgical technician are patients, surgical technologist, and surgical procedures.
| Operating Room Assistant | Surgical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $34,177 | $52,193 |
| Hourly rate | $16.43 | $25.09 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 218,839 | 70,920 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
An operating room assistant works alongside the surgeons in maintaining the orderly and sterile nature of operating rooms. The assistant ensures that all surgical equipment is clean and hygienic, all monitoring equipment is functional, and everything needed by the doctor is present inside the operating room. The assistant position is vital during an operation. The surgeon may become too focused on the operation at hand that helpful assistants must ensure an operation's smooth flow.
A Surgical Technician is an essential member of a medical operating team. They serve as an additional hand of a surgeon. Surgical Technicians have the vital responsibility of assisting surgeons during operations, such as passing and providing instruments and tools such as Graspers, Clasps, Suction, and more. Furthermore, Surgical Technicians are also responsible for preparing all of the required surgical devices and instruments, making sure they are all up to the standards of hospital and medical regulations. And post-surgery, their duties include applying bandages to a patient and even cleaning the operating room.
Operating room assistants and surgical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operating Room Assistant | Surgical Technician | |
| Average salary | $34,177 | $52,193 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $35,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Monica, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | St. Tammany Health System |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an operating room assistant and a surgical technician in terms of educational background:
| Operating Room Assistant | Surgical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between operating room assistants' and surgical technicians' demographics:
| Operating Room Assistant | Surgical Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2% | Male, 26.6% Female, 73.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 4.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 13% |