Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between diagnostic medical sonographers and radiologic 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 diagnostic medical sonographer and a radiologic technician. Additionally, a diagnostic medical sonographer has an average salary of $85,607, which is higher than the $50,622 average annual salary of a radiologic technician.
The top three skills for a diagnostic medical sonographer include patients, ARDMS and patient care. The most important skills for a radiologic technician are patients, ARRT, and radiologic technologist.
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | Radiologic Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $85,607 | $50,622 |
| Hourly rate | $41.16 | $24.34 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 58,800 | 58,797 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Associate Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Diagnostic Medical Sonographer uses ultrasound high-frequency sound waves to produce images of internal body tissues. Some typical duties include preparing patients, explaining the exams, and reporting the results to the patients or a physician.
A radiologic technician is responsible for testing and treating patients with radiology machines under the assistance of a radiologist. Duties of a radiologic technician include performing radiology procedures, monitoring the equipment's safety and stability, assisting the patients with the guidelines, detecting and resolving possible system malfunctions, and preventing excessive radiation exposure. A radiologic technician must have excellent technical skills and excellent knowledge of the medical industry to support the patients and provide additional assistance.
Diagnostic medical sonographers and radiologic technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | Radiologic Technician | |
| Average salary | $85,607 | $50,622 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $139,000 | Between $32,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | Eureka, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | St. Mary's Health Inc. | TALENT Software Services |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a diagnostic medical sonographer and a radiologic technician in terms of educational background:
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | Radiologic Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 55% | Associate Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Medical Technician |
| Most common college | Duke University | Texas A&M University |
Here are the differences between diagnostic medical sonographers' and radiologic technicians' demographics:
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | Radiologic Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.4% Female, 86.6% | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% |
| 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, 8.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 9.9% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |