UltraSound Tech Salary

Career as an ultrasound technician is an exciting one. It offers a promising future with good pay and great benefits. Many technician schools offer training programs for this field. If you spend time to earn a certificate or degree as an ultrasound technician, you can expect to have a salary worth that time and effort.

How Much Does An Ultrasound Technician Make

Ultrasound salaries are much more competitive than most of the jobs in allied health field. Some markets offer more than $65,000 for this job. An ultrasound technician could expect to have a mean annual salary of $63,640 for diagnostic medical Sonographers in May, 2009 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ultrasound_technician_certificationThe salary can vary depending upon the type of work setting. For instance, mean annual salary in the year 2009 for those working in physician’s offices was $63,820 while for those working in hospitals, it was $63,770. These salaries may also vary by state and obviously by country. Like other professions, ultrasound salaries are lower for entry-level workers and higher for the senior positions. Those who make an income more than $65,000 annually, 55 percent of them are 50 plus and 22 percent are below 30 years of age according to the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

Get Registered And Make More Money

Technicians can expect to have a lower pay if they are are not registered with the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS). Still, the lowest 10 percent of technicians earn least amount of salary equal to $ 43,990 per year while the upper 10 percent receive $85,950 per year. The pay also depends on the number of specialties the technician has. The more the specialties he/she has, the higher the pay. Employer, certification/education or background may also affect the ultrasound salary. Those working in hospitals earn $63,770 annually.

Doctors employ the second largest number of ultrasound technicians in their offices with 13,290 technicians receiving about $63,820 annually. Medical and diagnostic laboratories employ the third largest number of technicians i.e. around 4,680 technicians collectively and pay $61,820 to each one of them annually. Educational schools pay around $66,000.

Where Do You Live

Moreover, the geographical locations also play an important role in determining the amount of salary technician will receive. For instance, Massachusetts has the highest ultrasound technician salary of about $78,460 annually. Oregon is nearly identical with about $78,320 and Colorado is third highest with about $77,380 per year. In the under developed states, the demand for these technicians is very high while in highly developed states the jobs have reached a saturation point.

If a technician wants to earn the best salary, he/she should work with those companies that work with employment services, where he/she may earn up to $68,000 or even more per year. Management companies and enterprises pay the second highest salary where one can earn around $67,890 per year. Outpatient care centers pay $64,560 annually whereas educational schools pay around $66,000. Salary structure is also controlled by the working area environment, work load that the technician handles independently and size of the corporation. Previous working experience definitely adds a significant amount to the normally paid salary.