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The differences between unit 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 unit assistant and a certified medical technician. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $33,802 average annual salary of a unit assistant.
The top three skills for a unit assistant include patients, customer service and HIPAA. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Unit Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $33,802 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 174,425 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A unit assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties within a department of a health care institution, ensuring that the patients receive the highest quality care services for their concerns and needs. Unit assistants assist the patients and the visitors, confirm their appointments, and direct them to the correct personnel or medical department. They also manage the adequacy of medical supplies and report defective equipment and machine to the maintenance for immediate repairs or replacements. A unit assistant must be highly organizational, especially on storing medical records and updating patients' information on the database.
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.
Unit assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Unit Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $33,802 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $44,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Westfield, MA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | UC Santa Barbara | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a unit assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Unit Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between unit assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Unit Assistant | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 37 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.5% White, 55.9% 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% |