The career of the ultrasound technician is fulfilling, with it’s many challenges and competitive wages. For those individuals that are wanting more from a career, a career that has the potential for a large income and a career that you know is in high demand today and will continue to be in demand for the next several years to come, the position of an ultrasound tech can provide you with a successful future, one in which you are not left living Paychecks to Paychecks. Read on to find out how to make the best ultrasound technician pay possible.
The Salary for the Ultrasound Technician Just Starting Out
As with all careers, a person fresh out of college will make less a year than a veteran that has spent several years in a particular field. The ultrasound technician salary for someone just starting out can be expected to run upto 52,000$ a year for the first few years. While this is an impressive annual salary, it is not the highest annual salary possible.
Seasoned employees can look at an ultrasound technician pay rate of up to 87,000$ a year, depending on the type of medical facility they are employed at.
Being an ultrasound technician does not mean your job duties will strictly focus on taking images of unborn fetuses. The job of the ultrasound technician gives you the possibility of specializing in other aspects of the field, such as:
- Neurosonography
- Breast
- Abdominal
- Ob/gyn
By having a subspecialty this will make you as an ultrasound technician, in higher demand, which means a higher salary.
The Radiology Technician Salary Can be effected by Geography
You might not have thought about it before, or you may have asked yourself “ what states offer the highest paying ultrasound tech jobs?”. It’s true that where you live in the world will definitely affect the kind of money you bring home. Places such as Texas, California, New York and Alaska, offer the highest paying annual salary for an ultrasound technician. This is due to a particular states cost of living, meaning if a state is more expensive to live in, like California compared to Utah, there will be a better potential for a higher paying ultrasound tech job. You can also look into the job market itself to find out if a particular state will provide a higher paying position due to lack of qualified individuals. Ultrasound Technician Salary image
For example, an ultrasound technician working in Alaska can average 85,000$ annually, while the ultrasound technician salary rate in Ohio is around 75,000$ annually.
Knowing this, always take into account what the job market is like in your state and if you’re able to, apply for positions in states that can offer you that higher annual salary.
The environment in which you work will also affect your ultrasound technician pay. Places such as hospitals, imaging centres and research labs will pay more than places such as private family practices, veterinary clinics and other small medical clinics. More than 80% of ultrasound technicians are employed by large medical facilities like hospitals, this is usually due to the higher salary potential.