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The differences between pacs administrators 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 a pacs administrator, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a pacs administrator has an average salary of $80,742, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a pacs administrator include DICOM, patients and HL7. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Pacs Administrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $80,742 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $38.82 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 55,305 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
In the healthcare industry, a PACS administrator is in charge of handling and maintaining picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), ensuring efficiency in all operations. Among their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data, storing images and information, preparing and processing reports, performing installations and upgrades, troubleshooting errors, liaising and building positive relationships with external parties, addressing issues and concerns, and performing repairs as needed. Moreover, they must also provide technical support in various areas, training new and current staff members in operating PACS.
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.
Pacs administrators and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pacs Administrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $80,742 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $109,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oakland, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Levi Strauss & Co. | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pacs administrator and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Pacs Administrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Nursing |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between pacs administrators' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Pacs Administrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.3% Female, 31.7% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 9% | 8% |