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The differences between shop technicians and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a shop technician, 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 $36,798 average annual salary of a shop technician.
The top three skills for a shop technician include preventative maintenance, routine maintenance and diagnosis. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Shop Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,798 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $17.69 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 150,349 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Shop Technicians are skilled workers assigned to a retail store. Their main activities depend on the nature of the business their company is in. Usually, Shop Technicians work with machines in the shop. They conduct repair and maintenance work for machines that have long been in the shop. They are also in charge of installing and building new machines as well. Shop Technicians are assigned to manage records of such machines or s other mechanical items in the store. This is part of the administrative activities they may do for the shop.
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.
Shop technicians and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,798 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $53,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Leandro, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a shop technician and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Shop Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between shop technicians' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Shop Technician | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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 | 2% | 8% |