What are the highest and lowest sonography salaries that I could earn?

Sonography salaries range from $40,000 to $80,000 and depend on your qualifications, experience, number of specialties practiced and location, with higher salaries generally available in places where the cost of living is also higher. Because sonographers can work in a variety of medical institutions such as hospitals, clinics, research laboratories or private offices, the range of salaries is quite broad.

Luckily, sonographers who have earned an online associate degree in sonography have a very high return on their investment, as the average annual salary is $65,210, or $31.35 hourly, and students pursuing online degrees and associates degrees tend to have lower educational costs than students studying at traditional 4-year universities.

The salary for sonography will increase depending on experience, and much higher than average job growth is predicted for the near future. With over 20,000 new jobs in the field of sonography expected to be added over the next decade, growth prospects for sonography careers and sonography salaries are high.

Possibilities for advancement and higher pay than the sonography starting salary exist in education, administration and research, as well as in careers with private companies as technical advisors, where the salary for sonography is likely to be higher.

In addition to my sonography salary, will I earn benefits?

Because most sonographers work in the medical field, whether in private or public practice, medical benefits for sonographers are usually very generous. In addition to your sonography salary, you should expect to receive full health insurance and often other incentives such as dental and retirement benefits if you are a full-time employee.

Paid time off is also a standard benefit for full-time sonographers. Moreover, many employees are able to supplement their regular sonography salary with overtime hours or by working a second shift at a private clinic or research laboratory for extra pay.

Sonographers usually work as employees for various medical institutions, which means that they are rarely self-employed, so as a sonographer you can expect to be covered by your employer when it comes to health insurance and retirement benefits. Even if a sonography starting salary is relatively low, the generous benefits and availability of advancement make this an attractive career to pursue.

Finally, if after working as a sonographer you decide to teach sonography at a public university or college, or even online, you may be eligible for additional benefits from such public institutions. In general, most sonographers enjoy the security and benefits that come with being full-time employees for large corporate or public employers.

Will I always earn a salary in sonography jobs?

Whether your sonography pay is hourly or salaried depends on the type of position you advance to. Most sonographers begin as hourly employees at hospitals, clinics or private practices. The starting sonography pay is usually $20 to $25 per hour, often with the possibility of overtime as well. This means that the salary for sonography begins at about $40,000 annually. As you advance in your sonography career, your hourly rate will steadily increase, and your overall salary could quickly rise to $60,000 or even $80,000 per year if you are promoted in your career track.

You will not always earn a salary in sonography jobs, but if that is what you are interested in, there are career tracks that can lead to a salaried position. For example, working in a laboratory doing sonography research is often a salaried job, particularly in academic institutions. You could also decide to teach sonography full time at a college or university, in which case you would likely earn a salary rather than an hourly wage. Finally, you could have the best of both worlds and teach sonography online while also working as a sonographer in a hospital or clinic.