Ultrasound Technician Salary

Ultrasound Technician Salary - Top Three Factors Affecting Ultrasound Technologist Salary

How can you boost your salary as a sonographer? What should you consider if you want a rewarding ultrasound technician salary?

To begin with, an ultrasound technician has one of the highest entry level wages in the allied health care industry. If you compare the earnings of other diagnostic imaging professionals with similar years of training, the ultrasound technician salary still comes out as one of the highest: no less than $40,000 annually. Given this starting level, what other factors will come into play if you're aiming for more pay?

The typical ultrasound technician training is the two-year associate degree. While you can cut this down to one year with previous related medical training and experience, the two-year program is the best preparation for employment. You would have become familiar with technical knowledge that is essential to the job, and will likely have had ample hands-on training to harness your skills.

Youíre finally done with training and will gear up for the competition. Keep in mind this is an in-demand career and work opportunities are plenty - from hospitals to private clinics, diagnostic centers and clinical laboratories.

You should be aware that even when demand outstrips supply, employers still consider a lot of factors before deciding to take you in. Once they've decided to hire you, there is still a matter of your salary and even as you gain experience over time, these factors will continue to affect how your career will advance in the future.

Registration

While formal training by ultrasound tech schools will make you a competent professional that can perform the job, many employers still require that you be a registered ultrasound technician.

The organization where you register is the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography.  To qualify for registration, you must pass a general and specialty test, the latter especially if you completed specialized studies such as abdominal sonography, obstetric and gynecology sonography or vascular technology.

Yes, you can work even without registration, but you can't expect your ultrasound technologist salary to be on par with those who are ARDMS-registered.

Specialization

In this profession, the more specialties you have the better your chances at improving your ultrasound technician salary. While the ultrasound is closely associated with pregnancy, it being the most widely used instrument to monitor a growing fetus, it has expanded its use in the last decade owing to technology advancements.

If you have training in abdominal, breast, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, neurosonology and the now popular vascular technology, you are in a better position to raise your annual salary range.

Workplace and other factors

Yes, the state where you work has a bearing on your earnings, with areas that have a higher cost of living like New York and California offering bigger pay than those in Texas or Wisconsin. If your employer is a hospital, you will be compensated more than if you worked at a private physician's office or medical clinic. Likewise, your level of education and experience will play a role in determining how much you will get paid for your services.

The actual procedures are quite technical, but more importantly for an ultrasound technologist is having a compassionate nature that will help put patients at ease while they go through with the ultrasound and for them to understand what is happening during the process.  Will your patient skills impact on your pay rate? The ultrasound technician salary is pretty much subjective, but every little value added service brings more rewards.

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