Sonographists earn wages taking internal images of sick or injured patients.
Medical sonographists or sonographers operate imaging machinery to produce diagnostic images, such as X-rays and mammograms, of patients for doctors and surgeons. The salary of a sonographist depends on factors such as how many years of experience he has, the type of facility he works in and its geographic location.
Salary
Sonographists earned a salary average of $63,640 in the United States as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median salary is $63,010, with salaries ranging from $43,990 in the 10th percentile to $85,950 in the 90th percentile.
Facilities
Sonographists are most commonly found in general medical and surgical hospitals, working for the average salary of $63,770 a year, according to the bureau. Those in the offices of physicians earn a salary average of $63,820, while sonographists in outpatient care centers earn an average of $64,560. In medical and diagnostic labs the average income of a sonographist is $61,820, and those working in colleges, universities and professional schools earn an average of $66,250.
Location
The bureau states that three of the top five highest paying metropolitan areas in the country for sonographists are in California; in Santa Cruz, the average salary is $97,530, in San Jose the average is $92,680 and in Santa Rosa, the average is $83,130. The Worcester area of Massachusetts and Connecticut and Boulder, Colorado also offer higher than average wages at mean salaries of $90,440 and $83,790 respectively. Massachusetts and Oregon are the nation's two top paying states for sonographists with salary averages of over $78,000.
Advancement and Outlook
Sonographists can advance their careers and earn higher wages by obtaining certification and credentials in specialty areas such as obstetric sonography or neurosonography. The bureau reports that the employment rate for sonographists is predicted to increase by 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, with employment rising faster in the offices of physicians and in medical and diagnostic labs than in hospitals.
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