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The differences between principal mechanical engineers and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a principal mechanical engineer, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a principal mechanical engineer has an average salary of $102,451, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a principal mechanical engineer include mechanical engineering, CAD and mechanical design. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $102,451 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $49.26 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 127,517 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
A principal mechanical engineer is responsible for managing and maintaining the company's machinery, designing equipment that would support the business functions and operations efficiently, and inspecting tools for production processes. Principal mechanical engineers assist the work of junior engineers in manufacturing operations and resolving issues and tickets. They also conduct quality check procedures for the outputs, identify areas of improvement, and identify opportunities that would help the business grow more revenues and increase the company's profitability.
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.
Principal mechanical engineers and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $102,451 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $133,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a principal mechanical engineer and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Nursing |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between principal mechanical engineers' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.4% Female, 5.6% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 15.7% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 5% | 8% |