On this page we will take a look at:

• What a cardiovascular sonographer does
• What kind of education you will need
• What kind of salary you can expect

What A Cardiovascular Sonographer Does

Cardiovascular sonographers, also known as echocardographers, use sound waves to look at cardiovascular vessels, heart chambers and heart valves. Ultrasound technology makes images that physicians use to help diagnose and treat a patient with a heart condition. Cardiovascular sonographers may also help doctors do other types of tests and procedures.

Education

One of the most common ways for you to get your education is to complete a vocational or community college program that results in an associate degree. More four-year programs are becoming available as well. If you are already a qualified allied health professional, you only need to complete one year of specialized courses.

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Professionals (CAAHEP) is the professional body that accredits sonography programs. You can complete a cardiovascular sonography program, of which there were 34 as of January 2009, or you can finish a diagnostic medical sonography program, of which there were 168 in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Once you complete your education, register with the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) or the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) to be more qualified for jobs.

You can find more in-depth information on sonography schools and education here: sonography schools

Salary

The average annual salary for a cardiovascular sonographer was $64,614, according to a 2010 survey by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. The median annual salary was $62,691. Staff sonographers earned $60,655, and lead sonographers earned $70,944.

Assistant chief sonographers earned $65,197 per year on average, and chief sonographers earned $67,858. Cardiovascular sonography managers averaged $76,221, and administrators averaged $93,225. Instructors/faculty members averaged $66,441 per year, and program directors averaged $63,861.

As of May 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average annual salary of a cardiovascular sonographer (as part of a broader occupational category that includes other cardiovascular-related occupations) was $50,720 per year, or $24.38 per hour.

If you were a cardiovascular sonographer in the 10th percentile for salary, you would earn up to $26,610 per year, or $12.79 per hour, and you would make up to $34,750 per year, or $16.70 per hour in the 25th percentile. The median annual salary was $49,410 per year, or $23.75 per hour. The 75th percentile earned up to $64,190 per year, or $30.86 per hour. If you earned in the 90th percentile, your minimum annual salary would be $77,020, or $37.03 per hour.

Salary and Location

The BLS reports that the average salary for a cardiovascular sonographer in Anchorage, Alaska — the highest paying metropolitan location for this occupation — was $85,620, or $41.16 per hour. The average annual salary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California was $76,280 per year, $36.67 per hour.

The average annual salary in New Haven, Connecticut was $75,140, or $36.12 per hour. In Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts, the annual average salary was $74,760 per year, or $35.94 per hour. The fifth highest-paying metropolitan location was San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California with an average annual salary of $74,610 per year, or $35.87 per hour.

Salary and Industry

Sonographers in education averaged $62,121, according to the 2010 ASRT survey, and those in colleges, universities and professional schools averaged $49,120, or $23.61 per hour, according to the BLS. Those working in physicians’ offices or clinics earned $59,863 per year, according to the ARST survey, and the BLS reports that the average salary was $54,550.

The BLS states that the average salary in offices of other health practitioners was much higher at $64,070 per year, or $30.80 per hour. Employment services averaged $54,570 per year, according to the BLS, and $66,560, according to the ASRT survey. Medical and diagnostic laboratories paid an average of $52,180 per year, according to the BLS, and imaging centers/outpatient imaging centers paid an average of $65,827 per year, according to the ASRT survey.