Show me the money...

What are typical ultrasound technician salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

my salary is based on a 34hr week at
53,000 per year.
I do supplement at regional hospitals for
call which adds additional 25,000-30,000 per year

bobbie in Cincinnati, Ohio said: my salary is based on a 34hr week at
53,000 per year.
I do supplement at regional hospitals for
call which adds additional 25,000-30,000 per year

I would like to ask many questions regarding this career. Would you answer some basic questions for me?

Denise / Youngstown, OH toolmanran41@aim.com

Denise in Mc Donald, Ohio said: I would like to ask many questions regarding this career. Would you answer some basic questions for me?

Denise / Youngstown, OH toolmanran41@aim.com

Denise, I am currently an ultrasound tech student and will begin my clinical externship next Monday. I have done my homework on this profession and can probably answer many questions. I am currently attending Western School of Health and Business in Pittsburgh to obtain an AAS in Diagnostic Ultrasound. The information from "bobbie in Cincinnati" seems to be the average annual income ($53,000) for this profession. The United States Department of Labor and Statistics keeps track of recognized professions and the $53,000 annual income is near the average, but that is with several years experience and not including overtime. There is usually a slight difference in income between private practices and hospitals. I live in Masury (also Trumbull county - about 15 miles from McDonald) and starting salary around our area is about $20.00 per hour after graduation from an accredited school.

I am in an accredited program for Diagnostic Medical Sonography right now, but am worried that I won't find a job. How hard is it to find ultrasound jobs right now? I don't know if I should change my major, I really don't want to.

I'm not an expert, but being in an accredited institution already gives you a leg up on many others competing for positions within the ultrasound community.

I recommend staying off sites like Monster.com, etc. And focus more on getting on the registry after graduation. For small fees, the registry can help you locate a position in your area working normally per diam at first, but many times if you do good enough you can get hired on the site if you desire to have a set schedule.

I should say though if your not interested in the benefited position, you can make far more money working the registry.

I don't really know much about Louisiana Broke, so these answers are limited to the people I've been friends with and worked with mainly in the Los Angeles Area. (I live in Houston now, and with the medical center it doesn't seem like it would be to challenging to get a job).

I wouldn't leave your program personally, as it's getting more and more difficult just to get into it. I think you will be fine.

I'm a current Ultrasound student and I've got another 6 months to finish. I wanted to ask you guys since you guys would definitely know more than me. Do you get trained for everything when you newly start your work? And how important is ARDMS?

I have been researching the sonography field as well and I am
very interested,however I do not know which school to choose
some people I talk to say don't go to Sanford Brown others
say not HCC they require too much etc.etc Then again I am a high school drop out w/a GED only and afraid I won't make since I have been out school for more than 10 yrs. My question
is it difficult and stressful, I work a full time job at a hospital and cannot afford to go part time,just seeking some advise that will help me decide.

I'm looking for a good ultrasound school in Miami. I was wondering has anyone attended the Professional Training Center school, and is it worth the money.

Dear Latoya,

I don't think that is an accredited school.

I live in Miami as well and the only places I know are accredited are MDC and Keiser

Thanks Ines. But I was wondering if a school is not accredited, what does that really mean.

There is a program at a local community college that has a sonography program. I am wondering how competitive it is to get into the program. I have a lot of general education already and a cumlative GPA at 3.1. I have not been in school in sometime and have not worked at all since the births of my youngest two children ( age 4 and 6). I am almost 40 years old. based on that info, would i be competitive getting into the program and does anyone know if this is something everyone is trying to get into right now? it sounds like a dream job to me. Thanks.

I am very interested in becoming an Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Which school is the best in the West Los Angeles area? I am hoping to begin in 2008.
Thanks.

Rosie in Los Angeles, California said: I am very interested in becoming an Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Which school is the best in the West Los Angeles area? I am hoping to begin in 2008.
Thanks.

The University of West Los Angeles School of Law?

I am looking into the field of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and i was wondering if anyone who has been through the training can tell me how difficult it is. I have already graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology in 2006. I wanted to try something new with better opportunities but I am a little nervous about the medical field. This will sound really stupid, but I like to be straight foward, how difficult would you say it is to understand this training? How intelligent do you need to be? And that was not intended to insult or offend. I am just very confused and would love a change. PLEASE HELP!

HI!I WANT TO ENROLL FOR THIS PROGRAM IN ATI COLLEGE OF HEALTH THIS YEAR.BUT I'M STILL NOT TOO SURE ABOUT THIS CAREER,I HAVE READ ABOUT IT AND I LIKE IT SO FAR BUT I LIKE ANOTHER CAREER TOO :RESPIRATORY THERAPY,SO MY CHOICE IS GONNA DEPEND ON THE PAY...DOES ANYBODY HERE KNOW WICH ONE IS BETTER PAID(RESPIRATORY THERAPY OR DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL ULTRASOUND?AND DOES ANYBODY KNOW SOMENTHING ABOUT ATI COLLEGE OF HEALTH?I NEED HELP URGENT BECAUSE I WANT TO START SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BUT I NEED TO CHOOSE ONE OF THESE CAREERS AND MAKE SURE THAT ATI AT LEAST HAS A GOOD REPUTATION!!!!!!

Hi Jamie,

I leave in Miami as well.

Call me after 9:00 pm and I will tell you about my research...ATI...not accredited not a good option.

Sonography I heard pays more.

Hello!

I came in this country only 2 years ago, English still is not perfect.
I have tried to find a job in my previous profession for 2 years, no results so far…

I’m thinking about ultrasound technician profession.
The information, which I’m reading on this forum, shows that to find a job in this field is not easy, maybe the situation in New York is better?

I appreciate any your advice.

What accredited college in New York could you recommend?

Thank you

THANK YOU CAROLINA!!!!YOUR INFORMATION HAS BEEN REALLY HELPFULL...I DON'T HAVE UR # TO CALL YOU,BUT THIS ARE MY EMAILS JEYK87@MSN.COM OR JEYKB87@YAHOO.COM,ADD ME OR SEND ME A MESSAGE TO TALK ABOUT IT....THANKS ONCE AGAIN!!!

call me any evening during the week after 6 pm

I have all the info...after months of research here in FL

305 546-7503

i would like to start a new career and heard that being a sonographer is an excellent option, would anyone know of a school in maryland? How long the program is and any other details that might help. thanks for the help

Jamie,

I am a respiratory therapist and have been for 4 years. I originally entered into the respiratory profession wanting to go into sonography. At that time you had to be a resp therapist or a xray tech. Now you dont have to have either one you can just enter the program with proper pre-req's. Here in California the average pay depending on experience is between 17-25 and depending on hospital or homecare. Ultrasound here ranges from 35-65 depending on setting also. I would recommend sonography in terms of pay. They are both completly different so you cant even compare the two. I am furthering my education into Physician assistant. Make sure if you do choose RT that your school makes you RRT eligable and dont do a bachelors. You will not make anymore money having a bachelors. Same with sonography from my understanding from a friend who has been a sonographer for 10 years.
Hope this info helps you!

After being hurt and not able to perform my job, I have been considering a career change to sonography. I have been researching and only find Sanford-Brown here in NJ, is this the only school? I also would appreciate any advice and/or feedback about this field, thank you.

Annie in Morganville, New Jersey said: After being hurt and not able to perform my job, I have been considering a career change to sonography. I have been researching and only find Sanford-Brown here in NJ, is this the only school? I also would appreciate any advice and/or feedback about this field, thank you.

All I can tell you is that the iselin location in NJ is ARDMS accredited for general DMS. That's a good thing. I don't think I've seen any complaints on ripoffreport for this location, but it couldn't hurt to check there as well.

I'VE BEEN OUT OF SCHOOL FOR 20 YRS. MY YOUNGEST WILL GRAD. IN 2 YRS.IT TIME FOR ME AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE DONE ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS MY SON. I HAVE BEEN ONLINE FOR MTHS. LOOKING FOR WHAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO GET INTO THIS LOOKS LIKE I WOULD LIKE IT V. MUCH BUT NOT SURE AFTER THAT LONG OUT OF SCHOOL, WHERE DO I START WHAT WOULD I NEED TO GO TO GET READY FOR THIS PROGRAM ?
I THANK YOU NOW FOR YOUR HELP IN THIS MATTER.

J.10-IT

there are alot of schools depends where u live

Scott, thank you for the info, I will check that out. Has anyone here ever attended the Sanford-Brown School in Iselin NJ, please let me know. Can anyone tell me more about the field? I'm looking for something that's interesting and somewhat challenging, thanks.

I am a junior and high school and I have been looking into either sonography or radiology. Is there any way that any one knows the difference in salary and which job I would have an easier time finding?
Thanks to everyone who helps!

Also, how long am I going have to attend college and how many credits do I need??

Hey,
I'm in High School and I'm looking for a good career which well be a stable job for many yrs. To be an Ultrasoundist what kind of grades do you need to get into college for this profession? Do have to have a lot of math credits? Thank you for your time!
Jessie

Hi Annie in Morganville,
I like the way you say "challenging" about ultrasound profession. Yes, it's interesting field, however, it's very challenging to find a job. I didin't go to Stanford Brown Insitute, i went to some other school, but i can say, that you be very careful to what they are going to say to you at that school. I heard very bad stuff. And the other thing, their machines are so old, that you can hardly see anything on them. I had my clinicals with some people from Stanford Brown school, and their scanning techniques, more the knowlegde of medical stuff didin't impress anyone at the medical site. The only thing good about the school is, that it is accredited, but price wise it's the rip-off. If you don't have any med. background they will make you take the med. assisting classes that cost about 15000.00 and only then they will let you go to US class. I know some people from that school who have over 45000.00 loans to repay and no jobs.
Think very well before you put your signature on the application. I hope you will be a lucky one to get a job......
good luck

I HAVE BEEN IN THE ULTASOUND FIELD FOR 8 YEARS DOING ALL TYPES OF STUDIES INCLUDING (ECHO, OB, VASCULAR AND GENERAL), WITH B.S. DEGREE ( DIAGNSTIC MEDICAL IMAGING)IN NEW YORK. THE SALARY I MADE IS ONLY $30 PER HR. THEREFORE, I REALLY NOT SUGGEST ANYONE TO PURSUIT THIS DEADEND CARREAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yoyo said: I HAVE BEEN IN THE ULTASOUND FIELD FOR 8 YEARS DOING ALL TYPES OF STUDIES INCLUDING (ECHO, OB, VASCULAR AND GENERAL), WITH B.S. DEGREE ( DIAGNSTIC MEDICAL IMAGING)IN NEW YORK. THE SALARY I MADE IS ONLY $30 PER HR. THEREFORE, I REALLY NOT SUGGEST ANYONE TO PURSUIT THIS DEADEND CARREAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WITH SPELLING LIKE THAT, NO WONDER YOUR CAREER IS AT A DEAD-END.

wHAT STATE ARE YOU LIVING IN? That might be the problem. if you try being a traveller, you can make alot more money.

Sarah in Bakersfield, California said: Jamie,

I am a respiratory therapist and have been for 4 years. I originally entered into the respiratory profession wanting to go into sonography. At that time you had to be a resp therapist or a xray tech. Now you dont have to have either one you can just enter the program with proper pre-req's. Here in California the average pay depending on experience is between 17-25 and depending on hospital or homecare. Ultrasound here ranges from 35-65 depending on setting also. I would recommend sonography in terms of pay. They are both completly different so you cant even compare the two. I am furthering my education into Physician assistant. Make sure if you do choose RT that your school makes you RRT eligable and dont do a bachelors. You will not make anymore money having a bachelors. Same with sonography from my understanding from a friend who has been a sonographer for 10 years.
Hope this info helps you!

Sarah,

When you indicate Sonography pay for California, you mean the Bakerfield area right? Because I live in Silicon Valley and the pay rrate is significantly higher than that over here, even for new grads and especially if you have a BS degree and are registered.

Andre,

The sonography pay range that I mentioned was 35-65 a hour depending on the area. I have a friend who lives in dana point and is a sonographer and gave me that range for california. Respiratory I am not sure what the pay is depending on the area and if you are full time or per diem. Paying the top range of 65 a hour would put someone at a pay range of 124K a year. Your sonographers over there make that much even new grads? Here in bakersfield the sonographers start out at 35/hr. RT's new grads start out anywhere between 17-25 depending on full time and per diem.

Sarah,

I thought you meant 35K/yr to 65K/Year.
BAsed on that, In the Silicon Valley area its around 70K/year for mid-level. I would say 55K for entry if you have a Bachelors and are registered with no experience.After 2 years, your pay goes up significantly, or if not, you change jobs to a better offer.Thats just the way it works.
I plan to be a supervisor eventually(after I secure several specialty areas of course). They earn around 105K to 120K/Year in the San Jose area.

Andre,

Ya no not 35k to 65k/year. Gosh no! That wouldnt be worth it. I think the average is around 70k/year. I was really considering going into this field but have decided on PA. I am hoping to get into the program this year. That would be great if you could move up to a supervisor position. My friend now works for Toshiba as a clinical rep. She travels all around and does very well.
Good luck.

Are there any radiologists here in salt lake that can tel me if it would be a wise career decision to change my major from psycology to radiology? Does anyone know the pay rate here in Utah? I have generals down and now that I need to start getting into the degree requirements for psycology and an idea just popped into my head, could be my fait calling? who knows? But back to the question at hand, is this a good field to go into here in Utah?

Although there is a big need for Sonographers in all states, to guarantee a job right after graduation, you will need to be in a major metropolitan area like the BAy Area California, LA,New York,Chicago, etc.
Utah might be a bit more sketchy in terms of getting a job right away. Wages will be much lower and competition a bit more intense.
But I could be wrong.

can anyone help me find an accredited program near me? it seems like everything is sooo far!! i would also love to know an average salary for a sonographer around here and how the demand is right now. any 411 would be great, ive been out of school for 11 years raising my girls now id like to have a career...

I am currently a Respiratory Therapy student in Houston,Texas attending Coleman.Does anyone know the starting salary working in Texas.Also,I was thinking about working a few years as a Respiratory Therapist then go into Diagnostic Sonography,is that a good career move?

rhomaire in Houston, Texas said: I am currently a Respiratory Therapy student in Houston,Texas attending Coleman.Does anyone know the starting salary working in Texas.Also,I was thinking about working a few years as a Respiratory Therapist then go into Diagnostic Sonography,is that a good career move?

i am not sure what your idea of a "good career move" would be... are you not satified with RT? I personally would not finish RT school, work a few years, then do it all over for US. If you are interested in any of the modalities of US- you should do several days of observation in a department.... do not do it for the money!!!!!! It is a very challenging field- and extremely tech dependant.

I have been interested in taking a sonography program here in the east bay area of san francisco. However, I can only find programs in the sacramento, los angeles area. Does anyone know of anywhere else in the bay area that offers the program? San Francisco would be a bit far for me, but closer than Sacramento :/

I know there is one in san fran, I have a friend that is going to attend the program. What is your exact location? You can do a google search of what you are looking for and all the schools will come up. Make sure the school will offer a degree. some of the programs do not offer the degrees. This is what I have found is beneficial when I was looking into US school.

I'm in Pittsburg. I'm not interested in a degree program from a technical school, certification/license is what I'm looking for. Western Career College Citrus Heights is the only one coming up in searches.

All,

here are three schools for sonography in the Bay Area which I know.

1. Foothill College(Palo Alto) which offers an associate degree and is accredited. There is a major waitlist for this school and the prerequisites are not realistic.

2. Institute for Medical education in San Jose. They are not accredited, but offer a certificate program only for those who want to get their training fast without beurocracy.Only 19K for the program. If you have your bachelors already , you can sit for the ARDMS immediately after graducation without one year of experience

3. Gurnick College(San Mateo). Not accredited but offer an associates degree for those with pre-existing associate or bachelors degrees only. Lots of prerequisite classes and about 36K. You can sit for the ARDMS immediately after graduation.

People, and why do want to get into Ultrasound profession? It makes me cry.......it is so hard to get a job after the graduation, that you can't even imagine. Like here in NJ, basicaly 0 to nothing to find something. And don't think that ARDMS approved school, such as one in Iselin, will get your foot in the door. It's just not true....you will have to push and sweat to get these call backs form potential employers like everyone else not from ARDMS approved school.

Could someone please tell me what are the accredited schools in Miami. I am wandering which path to take - registered nurse or ultrasound technician. Please, advise!

Hey! If you go to www.caahep.org you can look up accedited programs in your area. But also remember that ARDMs requirements for non CAAHEP accreditted program, for example if you have a bachelor's degree in the science you can go to a nonaccreddited program, as long as you have one year of training/job experience you could take the registry. Another thing, some programs are accepted under certain requirements if they are recognized by another accreditting agency that ARDMs specifies...it's all under "interested in applying?" then click "prerequisites". Really research it and cover yourself. Also, I went to one semester of nursing school then switched to ultrasound. Another friend did the same thing, except she went for a full year of nursing before switching! Why...because the pay is about the same, the work is more specialized (ie, you don't have such a BROAD range of things to deal with), the work is better I think, and it's a shorter program (several programs are 1 year in length if you have the prerequisites, which you would have to have for nursing anyways). Hope this helps!

Hey! If you go to www.caahep.org you can look up accedited programs in your area. But also remember that ARDMs requirements for non CAAHEP accreditted program, for example if you have a bachelor's degree in the science you can go to a nonaccreddited program, as long as you have one year of training/job experience you could take the registry. Another thing, some programs are accepted under certain requirements if they are recognized by another accreditting agency that ARDMs specifies...it's all under "interested in applying?" then click "prerequisites". Really research it and cover yourself. Also, I went to one semester of nursing school then switched to ultrasound. Another friend did the same thing, except she went for a full year of nursing before switching! Why...because the pay is about the same, the work is more specialized (ie, you don't have such a BROAD range of things to deal with), the work is better I think, and it's a shorter program (several programs are 1 year in length if you have the prerequisites, which you would have to have for nursing anyways). Hope this helps!