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The differences between senior medical assistants and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior medical assistant and a certified medical technician. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $37,113 average annual salary of a senior medical assistant.
The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A senior medical assistant performs support tasks for physicians, nurses, and managers in a medical facility to ensure that patients get to receive optimal care and services. In general, they are responsible for handling calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, verifying patient information, liaising with external parties such as insurance providers, monitoring the inventory of medical supplies, and performing regular maintenance checks. Moreover, they must assist patients by answering inquiries, helping them in filling out forms, and making them feel comfortable throughout the procedures.
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.
Senior medical assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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 | 6% | 8% |