I am fixing to graduate soon and have my heart set on becoming an ultrasound technician. Can someone tell me what it takes to become one and how many years of college. Also, could someone please tell me the usual yearly salary and if the outcome of this jobs future looks good.

O.K. well there are a couple of options for you. 1. You can fast track via a "specialty school" such as the Miller Motte, etc. etc. The downside is you may not get a degree and you MUST make sure the program is accredited. IF the program is not, you will be throwing away money. 2. Go to your nearest tech college and get your 2 year associates. Most tech colleges are accredited and they will make sure you are taking the correct national certification exams. Most Physicians I know will not hire anyone for a position that has a national standard attached to it and the applicant is not certified. The National certifing body for Ultrasound tech is American Registry of
Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

As far as what it pays, in my area I know it depends on what area of the discipline you are working e.g.. M.D. office, hospital, research and of course your experience level. I am aware of a tech that works at an area OB/GYN clinic that has 3 years experience and they are in the 41K/yr. range. You will do clicnical rotations as part of your training and will get exposed to different areas that you could work in and you should be able to get a feel for what people are making. Again, it really depends on where you live and what area of the discipline you are working in.

My advice: Get your 2 yr. associates with the certification. More education = more money and if you ever decide to get your bachelors, you'll be half on your way which leads me to my final thought. Make sure whatever 2 yr. school you go to has a credit transfer verification progra, In other words, make sure the work you do on the associates counts towards a bachelors at a typical 4 year college. Hope that helps and I wish you good skill in your journey.

Forgot about your last part there. The demand in my area for the Ultrasound tech job is fair to good. I would suggest you search your area's hospital job postings and do a search on Monster or somehting to that effect to get a feel for how many jobs that are out there for your area. If you are really serious about going down that road, don't be against moving to a larger area where there may be more opportunity. Just my 3 cents.

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