Electrocardiograph technician vs echo technician

The differences between electrocardiograph 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 an electrocardiograph technician and an echo technician. Additionally, an echo technician has an average salary of $75,952, which is higher than the $33,888 average annual salary of an electrocardiograph technician.

The top three skills for an electrocardiograph technician include EKG, ECG and patients. The most important skills for an echo technician are patients, BLS, and echocardiography.

Electrocardiograph technician vs echo technician overview

	Electrocardiograph Technician	Echo Technician
Yearly salary	$33,888	$75,952
Hourly rate	$16.29	$36.52
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	12,598	14,522
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 54%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

Electrocardiograph technician vs echo technician salary

Electrocardiograph technicians and echo technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Electrocardiograph Technician	Echo Technician
Average salary	$33,888	$75,952
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $53,000	Between $49,000 And $117,000
Highest paying City	-	Springfield, OR
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	University of Maryland Medical System
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between electrocardiograph technician and echo technician education

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

	Electrocardiograph Technician	Echo Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Medical Technician
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Duke University

Electrocardiograph technician vs echo technician demographics

Here are the differences between electrocardiograph technicians' and echo technicians' demographics:

	Electrocardiograph Technician	Echo Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 30.4% Female, 69.6%	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%

Differences between electrocardiograph technician and echo technician duties and responsibilities

Electrocardiograph technician example responsibilities.

Assist with placement and manage intra-aortic balloon pumps.
Assist the radiologists with interventional procedures to include thyroid biopsies, renal biopsies, prostate biopsies, thoracentesis, and paracentesis.
Perform electrocardiogram recordings on patients as ordered by a physician.
Interpret and document the EKG reading, and give it to the doctor for review.
Respond to EKG requests via use of pager, phone system and overhead paging system.
Review patient's clinical record to obtain and record identifying information require for ECG records.

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.

Electrocardiograph technician vs echo technician skills

Common electrocardiograph technician skills

EKG, 42%
ECG, 23%
Patients, 13%
Electrocardiogram, 9%
Stress Tests, 5%
Medical Equipment, 3%

Common echo technician skills

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

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Electrocardiograph Technician
Electrocardiograph Technician vs Echo Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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