Cardiac sonographer vs staff sonographer

The differences between cardiac sonographers and staff sonographers 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 a staff sonographer. Additionally, a staff sonographer has an average salary of $85,821, which is higher than the $79,641 average annual salary of a cardiac sonographer.

The top three skills for a cardiac sonographer include patients, registry and RDCS. The most important skills for a staff sonographer are patients, sonography, and patient care.

Cardiac sonographer vs staff sonographer overview

	Cardiac Sonographer	Staff Sonographer
Yearly salary	$79,641	$85,821
Hourly rate	$38.29	$41.26
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	10,472	81,867
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Associate Degree, 56%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Cardiac sonographer vs staff sonographer salary

Cardiac sonographers and staff sonographers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cardiac Sonographer	Staff Sonographer
Average salary	$79,641	$85,821
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $116,000	Between $54,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Washington Hospital Healthcare System	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between cardiac sonographer and staff sonographer education

There are a few differences between a cardiac sonographer and a staff sonographer in terms of educational background:

	Cardiac Sonographer	Staff Sonographer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Associate Degree, 56%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Technician
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Cardiac sonographer vs staff sonographer demographics

Here are the differences between cardiac sonographers' and staff sonographers' demographics:

	Cardiac Sonographer	Staff Sonographer
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
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, 4.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between cardiac sonographer and staff sonographer duties and responsibilities

Cardiac sonographer example responsibilities.

Manage and operate the daily operations and supervision of the radiology ultrasound departments.
Perform diagnostic testing including echocardiograms, stress echocardiograms, bubble studies, carotid dopplers and venous dopplers.
detect blood clots (deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the major veins of the legs or arms.
Experience with m-mode , 2D, Doppler calculations.
Create detail preliminary reports via a PACS system.
Provide data collection, and entering for the QA.

Staff sonographer example responsibilities.

Facilitate physician to help achieve ICAEL accreditation status.
Use PACS to store, send and view scans.
Utilize hospital computer system for ordering and completing ultrasound department necessary functions, PACs image archiving.
Champion of radiology committee working with radiology manager and hospital officers and administration for patient experience and friendliness of staff.
Perform general diagnostic radiology examinations.
Perform pediatric echocardiogram, EKG and Holter monitoring.

Cardiac sonographer vs staff sonographer skills

Common cardiac sonographer skills

Patients, 15%
Registry, 8%
RDCS, 7%
ARDMS, 7%
Echocardiogram, 7%
Patient Care, 7%

Common staff sonographer skills

Patients, 20%
Sonography, 17%
Patient Care, 15%
Diagnostic Ultrasound, 12%
Ultrasound Exams, 6%
ABD, 5%

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Cardiac Sonographer
Cardiac Sonographer vs Staff Sonographer

Updated January 8, 2025

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