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The differences between optometric 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 optometric 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 $30,928 average annual salary of an optometric technician.
The top three skills for an optometric technician include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Optometric Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $30,928 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $14.87 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 33,412 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An optometric technician is responsible for performing administrative and clerical tasks to assist patients with their vision problems and needs. Optometric technicians work in the laboratory, constructing glasses and lenses according to the ophthalmologist's advice. They clean and inspect vision equipment and ensure that the facility is well-maintained. An optometric technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, manage information on the database, and release customers' orders.
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.
Optometric technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Optometric Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $30,928 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | 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 optometric technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Optometric Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between optometric technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Optometric Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3% | 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% |