Orthotic technician vs medical appliance maker

The differences between orthotic 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 orthotic technician and a medical appliance maker. Additionally, a medical appliance maker has an average salary of $47,527, which is higher than the $37,091 average annual salary of an orthotic technician.

Orthotic technician vs medical appliance maker overview

	Orthotic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Yearly salary	$37,091	$47,527
Hourly rate	$17.83	$22.85
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	5,562	53,648
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	Master's Degree, 50%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Orthotic technician vs medical appliance maker salary

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

	Orthotic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Average salary	$37,091	$47,527
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $57,000	Between $23,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between orthotic technician and medical appliance maker education

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

	Orthotic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	Master's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Business	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	Duke University	Northwestern University

Orthotic technician vs medical appliance maker demographics

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

	Orthotic Technician	Medical Appliance Maker
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 9.4% White, 58.4% 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 orthotic technician and medical appliance maker duties and responsibilities

Orthotic technician example responsibilities.

Manage inventory for all orthotic and prosthetic products and supplies.
Supervise, manage, and train new technicians in the fabrication of foot orthotics and foot inserts.
Work within EMR systems to maintain patient records.
Apply casts and splints make of plaster, fiberglass.
Fabricate prostheses, inserts, AFO's, and other custom-mold braces.
Assist in the reduction of fractures and in pin placement for traction set-ups.

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.

Orthotic technician vs medical appliance maker skills

Common orthotic technician skills

Patients, 32%
Orthotics, 27%
Grinders, 9%
Prosthetic Devices, 8%
Prosthetics, 7%
Vacuum Forming, 5%

Common medical appliance maker skills

Orthotic Technician vs. similar jobs

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Orthotic Technician
Orthotic Technician vs Medical Appliance Maker

Updated January 8, 2025

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