I'm a senior in high school, and I'm going to a local technical college to get an associate's degree in Radiology Technology. After earning my degree, I want to take a two more clases for I will be Certified in Mammography and Diagnostic Medical Sonography. I was wondering what the average salary was for a person who is certified in all these areas and how long do you think I will be in college?

Thanks, Victoria Bracey

My sister in law is radiology tech and is certified to do mammograms and diagnostic medical sonography and she does MRI's

She makes about 75,000 a year.
She was in school for 5 years.
But she is always going to different seminars.

I bet she has more than an associates degree though. Probably, for as much as she makes, she probably has a Bachelor's Degree.

An associates degree is a 2 year degree. It actually takes about 4 years to actually complete an associates degree.

The first 2 years are all of your prerequisites some of which include biologies, anatomy & physiology, chemistry, etc.

The last 2 years focus strictly on your core classes for your degree.

Please make sure your technical school does indeed offer an associates degree. Many in my area only offer certification, you only get a certificate saying that you completed the course.

I currently am at a community college to earn my associates degree then will be moving on to a larger university for my Bachelors and then my Masters degrees.

Why are you only seeking an Associate's Degree? Most hospitals/clinics require the minimum of a Bachelor's Degree plus the internship requirements. Medical professions require much more than two years can offer.

Please check out your programs carefully and basic qualifications needed in order to enter the workplace.

Good luck!

Aha, shygrneyzzs,

An Associates Degree is a great place to start. Once you get your Associates you can go to work and the hospital or clinic pays for the rest of your education to get your bachelor's or master's. All you have to do then is work for them for a contracted period to "pay off" the education, usually 2 years.

I guess it all depends on exactly what you want to do with the degree. Here in TN you have to have a BS or MS to do most of the work. Techs who have an AAS degree do most of the "scut" work, but they still get jobs at major hospitals. If you want to be someone of importance and get into the meat of the job, yes, you have to have a BS or MS.

Of course it depends a lot on what part of the country you live in on how much you get paid. At the hospital I work at a BS tech only makes $1 more an hour than a Associate's degree. There are also x-ray technicians that take a 12 hour course that work in some clinics and doctors offices that make about $8/hr. Us/sonography techs make around $20 just getting out of school, but there are a lot of different types of registries you can take in US to make yourself more valuable. At my hospital they get $1/hr raise every time they pass one. I know one girl that has taken and passed about 6 of them over the past 4 years.