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The differences between trainees 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 trainee, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a trainee has an average salary of $39,185, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.
The top three skills for a trainee include customer service, CDL and training programs. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Trainee | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,185 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $18.84 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 51,490 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Trainees' general responsibility is to familiarize themselves with the best practices and processes of their chosen careers. Some of the trainee's duties include shadowing with a tenured employee to understand various tasks, taking practical examinations to test knowledge extent, maintaining the eagerness to learn and a positive working attitude, assisting with customer inquiries, escalating concerns, and maintaining record progress. A trainee should be a team player, a fast learner, and the ability to handle constructive criticisms for improvement.
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.
Trainees and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Trainee | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,185 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $55,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Clifford Chance | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a trainee and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Trainee | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between trainees' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Trainee | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 9% | 8% |