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The differences between residential counselors 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 residential counselor, 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 $34,117 average annual salary of a residential counselor.
The top three skills for a residential counselor include direct care, medication administration and mental health. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Residential Counselor | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $34,117 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $16.40 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 81,287 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.
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.
Residential counselors and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Residential Counselor | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $34,117 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $42,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Alaska |
| Best paying company | The Evergreens | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a residential counselor and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Residential Counselor | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Nursing |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between residential counselors' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Residential Counselor | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.0% Female, 67.0% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 3.2% White, 67.0% 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 | 15% | 8% |