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The differences between optical design engineers and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an optical design engineer, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an optical design engineer has an average salary of $94,750, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for an optical design engineer include optical design, MATLAB and zemax. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Optical Design Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $94,750 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $45.55 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 49,731 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
An optical design engineer is an optics specialists who uses their scientific skills to design solutions and solve optical problems. Optical design engineers are essential in the field of laser technology, telescopes, optical lenses, and fiber optics. You will be responsible for designing and building devices that enable better utilization of optics technology and requires in-depth scientific optical knowledge as well as high technical design abilities. Optical design engineers are problem solvers in the field of optics.
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.
Optical design engineers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Optical Design Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $94,750 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $125,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Meta | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an optical design engineer and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Optical Design Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Nursing |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between optical design engineers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Optical Design Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 17.2% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |