Echo technician vs pulmonary function technician

The differences between echo technicians and pulmonary function technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an echo technician and a pulmonary function technician. Additionally, an echo technician has an average salary of $75,952, which is higher than the $50,458 average annual salary of a pulmonary function technician.

The top three skills for an echo technician include patients, BLS and echocardiography. The most important skills for a pulmonary function technician are patients, respiratory care, and patient care.

Echo technician vs pulmonary function technician overview

	Echo Technician	Pulmonary Function Technician
Yearly salary	$75,952	$50,458
Hourly rate	$36.52	$24.26
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	14,522	50,955
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Associate Degree, 44%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

What does an echo technician do?

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.

What does a pulmonary function technician do?

Pulmonary Function Technologists generally pay around $77K per year and require skills in respiratory care, spirometry, RRT, and understanding test results. In addition to a high school diploma, most employers will require anyone who chooses this career to have an associate degree in respiratory therapy or NBRC certification. This will be needed in a career that calls for setting up and running respective patients' respiratory tests for identifying lung diseases or disorders and conducting tests and collaborating with medical staff for possible diagnoses of lung disease.

Echo technician vs pulmonary function technician salary

Echo technicians and pulmonary function technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Echo Technician	Pulmonary Function Technician
Average salary	$75,952	$50,458
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $117,000	Between $33,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, OR	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	University of Maryland Medical System	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between echo technician and pulmonary function technician education

There are a few differences between an echo technician and a pulmonary function technician in terms of educational background:

	Echo Technician	Pulmonary Function Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Associate Degree, 44%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Technician
Most common college	Duke University	University of Southern California

Echo technician vs pulmonary function technician demographics

Here are the differences between echo technicians' and pulmonary function technicians' demographics:

	Echo Technician	Pulmonary Function Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6%	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
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%

Differences between echo technician and pulmonary function technician duties and responsibilities

Echo technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Perform cardiac defibrillation, CPR, and initiate invasive procedures on patients in cardiac arrest.
Utilize 2D , 3D, m-mode, and color Doppler.
Perform EKG's and treadmill stress testing.
Perform stress echo's, dobutamine stress echo's and bubble studies.
Assist physician with echo stress tests as well as treadmill only studies.

Pulmonary function technician example responsibilities.

Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Perform arterial blood gas analysis, routine spirometry, DLCO, and lung volume test.
Monitor client's heart rate while exercising on EKG.
Perform, monitor, record and interpret electrocardiogram tests.
Attend all high risk deliveries, arterial puncture, ventilator management, and EKG's.
Administer six minute walk test, Oximetry pulse studies , 02 therapy, and Nebulizer treatment.

Echo technician vs pulmonary function technician skills

Common echo technician skills

Patients, 19%
BLS, 10%
Echocardiography, 10%
Echocardiogram, 9%
Patient Care, 8%
Cardiology, 6%

Common pulmonary function technician skills

Patients, 25%
Respiratory Care, 11%
Patient Care, 10%
Spirometry, 8%
Respiratory Therapy, 6%
Test Results, 5%

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Echo Technician
Echo Technician vs Pulmonary Function Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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