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Patient Care Technician vs Surgical Technician

By Stephanie DayakUpdated
Patient Care Technician vs Surgical Technician

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Patient care technicians and surgical technicians both play vital roles in direct patient care—but their responsibilities, training, and career paths are very different. Here's how they compare in duties, salary, education, and job outlook.

How to Become a Patient Care Technician

  1. Be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED
  2. Enroll in a PCT training program (4–12 weeks)
  3. Complete hands-on training
  4. Earn certification (varies by state)

How to Become a Surgical Technician

  1. Be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED
  2. Complete a surgical technician program (12–24 months)
  3. Pass the CST certification exam from NBSTSA
  4. Apply to hospitals or surgical clinics

Career Outlook & Salary

Patient Care Technician

  • Job growth: 4% from 2023–2033 (BLS)
  • Salary: $39,430 per year (BLS)

Surgical Technician

  • Job growth: 6% from 2023–2033 (BLS)
  • Salary: $62,830 per year (BLS)

Which Is Better for You?

Choose Patient Care Technician if you want to:

  • Start working quickly
  • Focus on day-to-day patient care
  • Work under nurses in hospitals or long-term care

Choose Surgical Technician if you want to:

  • Be part of surgical procedures
  • Learn sterile technique and surgical tools
  • Earn a higher salary in a technical setting

Final Thoughts

Both careers offer strong job growth and the chance to make a difference. If you’re looking for fast entry and bedside interaction, patient care technician training is a great option. If you’re drawn to surgery and sterile environments, surgical technology may be the better fit.

Explore Dreambound to find the best training programs near you. Read these other blogs:

Stephanie Dayak
Written by
Stephanie Dayak

Stephanie is the General Manager at Dreambound, where she helps students match with the right training programs and schools. Her Accountancy degree and Certified Tax Technician credential give her a data-focused, detail-oriented approach to her work. She analyzes career-training industry data to find the programs that genuinely deliver for students, and builds the automations, dashboards, and tools that support them along the way, and that same analytical eye informs how she reviews content for Dreambound.

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Patient Care Technician vs Surgical Technician