Safety assistant vs certified medical technician

The differences between safety assistants 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 safety assistant, 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 $38,077 average annual salary of a safety assistant.

The top three skills for a safety assistant include patients, patient care and patient safety. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Safety assistant vs certified medical technician overview

	Safety Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$38,077	$38,859
Hourly rate	$18.31	$18.68
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	13,994	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	6	12

What does a safety assistant do?

Safety assistants help safety managers create and execute safety protocols. Typical duties include examining work areas, locating hazardous elements as well as keeping up with safety manuals and guidelines. Also, they interview injured employees, maintain first aid centers, and probe work safety incidents. Additionally, they direct regular audits with safety mentors to make certain that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies and procedures are followed. Primary job qualifications include knowledge in safety protocols, detail-oriented, organizational skills, teamwork, and time management. Another important requirement in this field is training in occupational hazards.

What does a certified medical technician do?

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.

Safety assistant vs certified medical technician salary

Safety assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Safety Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$38,077	$38,859
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $53,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Fairbanks, AK	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Capco	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between safety assistant and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a safety assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Safety Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Connecticut

Safety assistant vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between safety assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Safety Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	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	7%	8%

Differences between safety assistant and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Safety assistant example responsibilities.

Maintain and manage training records relate to MSHA compliance, ATF compliance and company-requir training.
Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
Assist patients with daily hygiene, also assist nurses with patients periodically; distributing medication and direct observation
Work as one-to-one patient safety assistant worker providing supervision to patients who suffer from physical, mental and psychological conditions.
Organize CPR trainings and hearing tests for employees.
Train in the use of the Autopulse CPR machine.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Safety assistant vs certified medical technician skills

Common safety assistant skills

Patients, 21%
Patient Care, 11%
Patient Safety, 10%
CPR, 8%
OSHA, 5%
Safety Audits, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Safety Assistant
Safety Assistant vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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