Healthcare Practitioners
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
Also called: Cardiovascular Sonographer, Echo Tech (Echocardiographic Technician), Echosonographer Technologist (Echo Technologist), Medical Sonographer
US median pay
$96,590
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+13.9%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
6,000
92,200 employed
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
What they do day to day
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
- Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.
- Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
- Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness3.6/5
- Operation and Control3.4/5
- Operations Monitoring3.2/5
- Coordination3.2/5
- Service Orientation3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Instructing3.0/5
Knowledge
- Physics4.5/5
- Medicine and Dentistry4.5/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2/5
- Biology4.0/5
- English Language3.7/5
- Computers and Electronics3.3/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): Associate's degree.
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.