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The differences between quality assurance associates and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a quality assurance associate, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a quality assurance associate has an average salary of $61,473, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a quality assurance associate include excellent interpersonal, customer service and GMP. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Quality Assurance Associate | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $61,473 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $29.55 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 62,324 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A quality assurance associate's role is to oversee the production operations in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting, ensuring quality standards throughout the entire process. Most of the time, a quality assurance associate must perform workforce assessments, provide training to new employees, produce or approve documentation and progress reports, and collaborate with colleagues to ensure that everything is running smoothly and complies with the company's policies and regulations. Furthermore, there are instances when one must address issues and concerns, providing them with the necessary corrective measures.
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.
Quality assurance associates and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Associate | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $61,473 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $84,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | New York | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Citi | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance associate and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Associate | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between quality assurance associates' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Associate | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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% |