Optical laboratory technician vs certified medical technician

The differences between optical laboratory 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 optical laboratory 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 $32,926 average annual salary of an optical laboratory technician.

The top three skills for an optical laboratory technician include equipment maintenance, prescription glasses and dexterity. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Optical laboratory technician vs certified medical technician overview

	Optical Laboratory Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$32,926	$38,859
Hourly rate	$15.83	$18.68
Growth rate	2%	5%
Number of jobs	40,155	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does an optical laboratory technician do?

An optical laboratory technician is responsible for filling patients' eyeglass lenses and contact lenses prescriptions as forwarded by an optician. Optical laboratory technicians work with opticians, optometrists, or in an optical equipment laboratory and are also referred to as ophthalmic laboratory technicians. You require technical expertise to use lens grinders and lensometers for the right curvature and prescription for patients. Optical laboratory technicians ensure that lenses are crafted correctly and logging records about each order filled.

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.

Optical laboratory technician vs certified medical technician salary

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

	Optical Laboratory Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$32,926	$38,859
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between optical laboratory technician and certified medical technician education

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

	Optical Laboratory Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Optical laboratory technician vs certified medical technician demographics

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

	Optical Laboratory Technician	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 54.9% Female, 45.1%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.9% Asian, 9.3% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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	5%	8%

Differences between optical laboratory technician and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Optical laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage filing, scanning & shredding important medical documents in office due to HIPAA privacy laws.
Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Perform in house testing, controls, correlations, proficiency testing, NCS, PVDT, and EKG.
Transmit orders via POS to the lab.
Perform EKGS by placement of electrodes and gathering the EKG readings.
Verify orders, answer phones, and ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations.

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.

Optical laboratory technician vs certified medical technician skills

Common optical laboratory technician skills

Equipment Maintenance, 59%
Prescription Glasses, 9%
Dexterity, 5%
Data Entry, 5%
Patients, 4%
Inventory Control, 3%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Optical Laboratory Technician vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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