Orthopedic technician vs medical appliance maker

The differences between orthopedic technicians and medical appliance makers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an orthopedic technician and a medical appliance maker. Additionally, a medical appliance maker has an average salary of $47,527, which is higher than the $37,658 average annual salary of an orthopedic technician.

Orthopedic technician vs medical appliance maker overview

	Orthopedic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Yearly salary	$37,658	$47,527
Hourly rate	$18.10	$22.85
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	26,316	53,648
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Master's Degree, 50%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Orthopedic technician vs medical appliance maker salary

Orthopedic technicians and medical appliance makers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Orthopedic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Average salary	$37,658	$47,527
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $49,000	Between $23,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Burlingame, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Nicklaus Children's Hospital	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between orthopedic technician and medical appliance maker education

There are a few differences between an orthopedic technician and a medical appliance maker in terms of educational background:

	Orthopedic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Master's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Nursing	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Northwestern University

Orthopedic technician vs medical appliance maker demographics

Here are the differences between orthopedic technicians' and medical appliance makers' demographics:

	Orthopedic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 9.3% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 10.0% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between orthopedic technician and medical appliance maker duties and responsibilities

Orthopedic technician example responsibilities.

Assist with taking vital signs and CPR.
Instruct patients on how to adjust crutches, walkers and other aids.
Adjust crutches and canes to fit patient and instruct patients in walking with casts, braces, and crutches.
Provide on-call orthopedist and neurologist with surgical procedures, traction application, casting and splinting assistance.
Work closely with orthopedic surgeons and other physicians to ensure proper application and education of traction devices.
Create and implement rehabilitation protocols for foot and ankle injuries and post-surgical patients including custom casting and brace fabrication.

Medical appliance maker example responsibilities.

Job duties: assemble medical probes and to make computer chips that are used in hydrogen tanks for NASA.
Job duties: assemble medical probes and to make computer chips that are used in hydrogen tanks for NASA.

Orthopedic technician vs medical appliance maker skills

Common orthopedic technician skills

Patients, 23%
Traction, 16%
Splints, 10%
Customer Service, 4%
Vital Signs, 3%
CPR, 3%

Common medical appliance maker skills

Orthopedic Technician vs. similar jobs

Orthopedic Technician related careers

Orthopedic Technician related jobs

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Orthopedic Technician
Orthopedic Technician vs Medical Appliance Maker

Updated January 8, 2025

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