The work of ultrasound technicians helps doctors diagnose or rule out health problems. Most ultrasound techs, also called diagnostic medical sonographers, find employment in hospitals, while others work in physicians' offices, medical and diagnostic laboratories and outpatient care centers. The average salary of a diagnostic ultrasound tech in Atlanta, Georgia, is nearly the same as the national average salary for this occupation.
Job Features
Ultrasound technicians use equipment that sends high-frequency sound waves into the patient's body. The sound bounces off interior structures, creating echoes that make visual images on a computer screen or film. Doctors view these images to determine if any medical disorders are present. The common practice of having ultrasounds scans during pregnancy has made the process familiar to the general public, but ultrasound technology has other specialties, such as cardiac sonography and neurosonography.
Training
An aspiring ultrasound technician can obtain training in a two-year associate's degree or a four-year bachelor's degree, with the associate's degree most common. Training also is available in the military and in some hospitals. Most employers prefer techs who hold professional registration from the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Salary Range
The median nationwide salary for an ultrasound technician as of January 2011 was about $64,700 per year, notes Salary.com. Those in the middle 50 percent of the earnings scale were making $59,000 to $70,700. The bottom 10 percent had salaries below $54,200 and the top 10 percent made more than $76,200 per year. Ultrasound techs in Atlanta had an average salary of $64,750, with the middle 50-percent range at $59,000 to $70,800. The bottom 10 percent there had incomes below $54,100, and the top 10 percent higher than $76,300.
Comparisons
Cities relatively close to Atlanta all had average salaries for diagnostic ultrasound techs lower than that in Atlanta. In Athens, these technicians were earning about $57,900 per year on average, in Rome $59,100, in Columbus $59,500 and in Macon $60,900.
Types of Employment
Salaries for diagnostic ultrasound technicians also vary somewhat by the type of employment. Those working in general medical and surgical hospitals, doctors offices and outpatient care centers all were earning about $64,000 per year on average in 2009, according to the BLS. Ultrasound techs employed at medical and diagnostic laboratories were making about $62,000 per year. Those at specialty hospitals, such as facilities providing long-term care for critically ill patients, had higher annual average salaries for ultrasound techs of about $67,000, but only a small number of ultrasound techs work for specialty hospitals.
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