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The differences between optician apprentices and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $37,698 average annual salary of an optician apprentice.
The top three skills for an optician apprentice include POS, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Optician Apprentice | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,698 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $18.12 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 10,174 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 12 |
An optician apprentice is an assistant to a certified optician whose responsibilities include designing, measuring, and fitting lenses and frames for clients. Optician apprentices assist clients with picking out frames of their choice and within their budgets, measuring customer size for fitting, and ensuring a good face- eyeglass match. You will also assist and educate patients on how to wear and care for contact lenses and prepare work orders for the frame and lens mounting in the lab.
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.
Optician apprentices and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Optician Apprentice | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,698 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $48,000 | 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 |
There are a few differences between an optician apprentice and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Optician Apprentice | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between optician apprentices' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Optician Apprentice | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 13% | 8% |