Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between cardiac technicians 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 technician and an echo technician. Additionally, an echo technician has an average salary of $75,952, which is higher than the $39,698 average annual salary of a cardiac technician.
The top three skills for a cardiac technician include patients, BLS and CPR. The most important skills for an echo technician are patients, BLS, and echocardiography.
| Cardiac Technician | Echo Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,698 | $75,952 |
| Hourly rate | $19.09 | $36.52 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 50,689 | 14,522 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Cardiac or cardiovascular technicians are healthcare professionals who participate in saving the lives of patients with a heart attack by helping physicians diagnose and treat cardiac and peripheral vascular ailments. These technicians are experts in conducting electrocardiogram (ECG) tests that measure the electrical activity of a patient's heart. They prepare patients and position them for the medical procedure while setting up the necessary diagnosing and monitoring equipment. Cardiac technicians must also assist cardiovascular surgeons in interpreting the reports for their patients.
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 technicians and echo technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cardiac Technician | Echo Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,698 | $75,952 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $50,000 | Between $49,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | Springfield, OR |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | University of Maryland Medical System |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a cardiac technician and an echo technician in terms of educational background:
| Cardiac Technician | Echo Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | Emory University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between cardiac technicians' and echo technicians' demographics:
| Cardiac Technician | Echo Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 8% | 8% |