Sonographers use ultrasound machines to produce images of internal organs.
Best-known for conducting ultrasound tests on pregnant women, diagnostic medical sonographers use sound waves to create pictures of internal organs and bodily structures to assist doctors in diagnosing and treating medical conditions.
Salaries
Diagnostic medical sonographers earn average, or mean, wages of $30.60 per hour or $63,640 per year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures from May 2009. The median figures, which half of sonographers earned more than and the other half earned less than, were similar to the averages, at $30.30 hourly and $63,010 annually. Salaries ranged from $85,950 and up for the highest-paid 10 percent of sonographers to $43,990 or less for the most poorly paid 10th.
Top Industries
General medical and surgical hospitals employed more than half of diagnostic medical sonographers, paying an average salary of $63,770. Doctors' offices, the second-largest employer, paid $63,820, the BLS reports, while medical and diagnostic laboratories were the third-biggest and paid $61,820 per year, on average.
Best-Paying Areas
Massachusetts was the highest-paying state for sonographers as of May 2009, with an average annual salary of $78,460, while Oregon was second, with an average salary of $78,320 per year. Colorado, Washington and Alaska also paid average annual salaries of more than $75,000. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California was the highest-paying metropolitan area with an average annual salary of $97,530.
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