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The differences between technical illustrators 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 technical illustrator, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a technical illustrator has an average salary of $52,828, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a technical illustrator include adobe illustrator, engineering drawings and technical illustrations. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Technical Illustrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $52,828 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $25.40 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 69,932 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Technical illustrators create drawings or illustrations for various technical documentation through digital technology. Aside from being familiar with IT and design software, they have strong creativity and imaginative skills to provide illustrations that express an idea or concept. Also, they are excellent in drawing, painting, sketching, and photography. To become an effective technical illustrator, one must obtain a bachelor's degree related to graphic design and illustration since the job involves creating a diagram that depicts how a certain machine works visually.
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.
Technical illustrators and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Illustrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $52,828 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a technical illustrator and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Illustrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Nursing |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between technical illustrators' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Technical Illustrator | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |