Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between program support technicians 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 program support technician, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $36,653 average annual salary of a program support technician.
The top three skills for a program support technician include program support, data entry and DMV. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Program Support Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,653 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $17.62 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 160,368 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Program support technicians require administrative experience and skills in communication, organization, and proficiency with office software to do their best. This career choice demands showcasing support for users by answering their questions, resolving technical issues, and maintaining the network, software, and computer equipment of the respective company.
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.
Program support technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Support Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,653 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $52,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Long Beach, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Mandiant | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a program support technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Program Support Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between program support technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Program Support Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.6% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 11% | 8% |