When physicians need to look inside a patient without resorting to invasive operations, they rely on the services of sonographers and radiographers, who use different technologies to image the soft and hard parts of the human body. Though they perform the same diagnostic
When physicians need to look inside a patient without resorting to invasive operations, they rely on the services of sonographers and radiographers, who use different technologies to image the soft and hard parts of the human body. Though they perform the same diagnostic functions, each profession offers salaries that differ by job title and employer.
Sonographers made a range of $44,950 to $90,640 yearly, which was equivalent to $21.61 to $43.58 hourly, as of May 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the average salary for the 54,760 workers was $65,800 yearly, or $31.63 hourly. Sonographers direct sound waves into a patient’s body to provide diagnostic images. This ultrasound process avoids the potentially harmful radiation effects of X-rays and is able to show soft tissues. The process is ideal for revealing the growth of fetuses and other medical tasks where safety is important. Sonographers require postsecondary training in an associate degree or certificate program. Many employers prefer to hire those with voluntary certification.
About 32,900 sonographers worked for general medical and surgical hospitals to earn a mean annual wage of $65,870, or $31.67 per hour. Their highest wages were in colleges, universities and professionals schools, averaging $74,540 per year, or $35.84 per hour. The state with the most jobs was California, which showed 5,320 positions at $81,750 annually, or $39.30 hourly. The metropolitan area topping the opportunity list was New York, where 2,210 workers made an average $64,880 yearly, or $31.19 per hour. California workers were the highest paid among state rankings. In cities, San Jose, California, showed the highest compensation at an average $104,130 per year, or $50.06 per hour.
Radiographers, who are also called radiologic techs, earned a mean of $56,760 per year, or $27.29 per hour. The lowest-paid 10 percent averaged $37,360 per year, or $17.96 per hour, while the best-paid 10 percent received $77,760 per year, or $37.39 per hour. Radiologic techs use non-sonogram equipment to image the interior of the patient’s body. They can specialize in X-rays, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The job mandates 