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The differences between planning assistants 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 planning assistant, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a planning assistant has an average salary of $43,826, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a planning assistant include patients, social work and financial reports. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Planning Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,826 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $21.07 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 10,787 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 38 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Planning assistants are paid around $38K per year. Individuals need knowledge of drafting, preparing preliminary design layouts, and analyzing information. Those who choose this career will be expected to initiate, prepare, and/or conduct surveys. They must also prepare analytical reports, preliminary designs, development plans, subdivision plans, recreational layouts, or special studies.
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.
Planning assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planning Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,826 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $59,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Silver Spring, MD | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Earthjustice | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a planning assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Planning Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between planning assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Planning Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 | 8% | 8% |