Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between ophthalmic 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 ophthalmic technician, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an ophthalmic technician has an average salary of $44,042, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an ophthalmic technician include patients, patient care and ophthalmology. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Ophthalmic Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $44,042 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $21.17 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 19,063 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An ophthalmic technician specializes in providing eye care services to patients under the supervision of an ophthalmologist. Among their responsibilities include conducting interviews, taking notes of the patients' symptoms, conducting eye examinations and tests, administering medication, and performing support tasks for ophthalmologists during procedures. They may also set-up and operate equipment, perform maintenance checks, and maintain the cleanliness of work areas. Moreover, an ophthalmic technician may perform clerical tasks such as preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, and assisting patients in filling out forms.
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.
Ophthalmic technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Ophthalmic Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $44,042 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $62,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Eye Consultants of Atlanta | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an ophthalmic technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Ophthalmic Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between ophthalmic technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Ophthalmic Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.8% Female, 83.2% | 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% |