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The differences between quality assurance specialists 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 specialist, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a quality assurance specialist has an average salary of $63,443, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a quality assurance specialist include GMP, patients and FDA. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $63,443 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $30.50 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 83,505 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A quality assurance specialist is an individual who is responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and proposing measures to correct and improve a company's product. Quality assurance specialists need to outline quality assurance policies and procedures, making sure that quality standards are assured. It is important that a quality assurance specialist should have strong attention to detail and is excellent in data collection. This work may require a minimum of bachelor's degree and certification to get certified.
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 specialists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $63,443 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $97,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Apple | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance specialist and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between quality assurance specialists' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | 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% |