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The differences between cardiac sonographers and echo technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a cardiac sonographer and an echo technician. Additionally, a cardiac sonographer has an average salary of $79,641, which is higher than the $75,952 average annual salary of an echo technician.
The top three skills for a cardiac sonographer include patients, registry and RDCS. The most important skills for an echo technician are patients, BLS, and echocardiography.
| Cardiac Sonographer | Echo Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $79,641 | $75,952 |
| Hourly rate | $38.29 | $36.52 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 10,472 | 14,522 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Associate Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A cardiac sonographer specializes in operating imaging technologies to help physicians assess and determine the cardiac conditions of patients. Aside from coordinating with physicians, a cardiac sonographer also interacts with patients, providing them assistance throughout the process, and discussing the extent of procedures. Typically, a cardiac sonographer's responsibilities revolve around coordinating with hospital staff to gather patient information, sharing test results to physicians promptly, and even managing the scheduling of patients, all in adherence to the hospital's policies and regulations.
An echo technician is responsible for operating specialized equipment to develop ultrasound images of patients' hearts, diagnosing possible illnesses, and monitoring their conditions. Echo technicians carefully explain the process to the patients, assist the physicians in data interpretation, and ensuring that the image document was stored and developed properly for reference. They also inspect the machine and equipment's efficiency for operations and immediately call for repairs for any defects and malfunctions that may cause inaccuracies in the results.
Cardiac sonographers and echo technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cardiac Sonographer | Echo Technician | |
| Average salary | $79,641 | $75,952 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $116,000 | Between $49,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oakland, CA | Springfield, OR |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Washington Hospital Healthcare System | University of Maryland Medical System |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a cardiac sonographer and an echo technician in terms of educational background:
| Cardiac Sonographer | Echo Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Associate Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between cardiac sonographers' and echo technicians' demographics:
| Cardiac Sonographer | Echo Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2% | Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 13.9% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |