--- title: "Diagnostic Medical Sonographer" description: "Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists." canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer" last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z" --- # Diagnostic Medical Sonographer **Category:** Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · **SOC code:** 29-2032 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 29-2032.00 Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists. Also advertised as: Cardiac Sonographer; Diagnostic Medical Sonographer; Medical Sonographer; Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS); Sonographer; Staff Sonographer; Ultrasonographer; Ultrasound Technician (Ultrasound Tech). ## At a glance - **Median annual wage:** $96,590 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) - **Median hourly wage:** $46.44/hr - **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $67,820 to $129,370, with the middle half between $80,430 and $106,930 - **Total US employment:** 90,160 - **Typical entry education:** Associate's - **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed" - **Projected growth:** +13.0% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034) - **Annual job openings:** 5,800 openings a year - **AI-resilience score:** 47/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure ## Pay National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 90,160 US jobs. | Percentile | Annual wage | | --- | --- | | 10th | $67,820 | | 25th | $80,430 | | 50th (median) | $96,590 | | 75th | $106,930 | | 90th | $129,370 | | Mean (average) | $97,240 | ### Pay by state The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there. | State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | CA | $128,530 | $116,086 | 10,110 | | HI | $124,430 | $113,169 | 210 | | WA | $121,340 | $113,388 | 2,190 | | OR | $120,220 | $116,311 | 1,210 | | DC | $112,020 | $101,928 | 160 | | CO | $108,410 | $105,199 | 1,430 | | MA | $107,480 | $101,629 | 2,190 | | AK | $105,670 | $103,235 | 140 | | VT | $104,100 | $106,270 | 140 | | NY | $103,920 | $96,293 | 6,880 | | NH | $103,760 | $99,611 | 400 | | CT | $103,230 | $99,633 | 990 | | NJ | $103,150 | $94,803 | 3,370 | | MN | $102,850 | $104,288 | 1,710 | | WI | $102,090 | $108,497 | 1,530 | 37 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 52 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer. ## Outlook BLS projects employment to move from 90,000 in the 2024–2034 base year to 101,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 11,700 jobs, or +13.0%. Much faster than average: 13.0% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 5,800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034. ## How to get in - **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections). - **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed". - **Related work experience typically required:** None. - **Typical on-the-job training:** None. ### Education people in this job actually hold O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above. | Education level | Share of workers | | --- | --- | | Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 47.1% | | Post-Secondary Certificate | 19.3% | | Bachelor's Degree | 16.8% | | First Professional Degree | 16.7% | ## What the work involves - Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required. - Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort. - Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles. - Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly. - Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations. - Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas. - Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary. - Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations. ## Skills and knowledge ### Essential skills - Active Listening — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Reading Comprehension — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Speaking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Critical Thinking — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Active Learning — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Writing — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Science — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Transferable skills These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site. - Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Time Management — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Coordination — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Service Orientation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Operations Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Knowledge areas - Customer and Personal Service — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - English Language — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Physics — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Medicine and Dentistry — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Administrative — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Computers and Electronics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Abilities - Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Written Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Oral Expression — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Written Expression — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ## Who it suits O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I). | Interest area | Score (1–7) | | --- | --- | | R — Realistic | 5.87 | | C — Conventional | 5.05 | | I — Investigative | 4.75 | | S — Social | 4.10 | | E — Enterprising | 1.51 | | A — Artistic | 1.32 | ### Personality fit These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job. | Type | Fit score (0–100) | | --- | --- | | ISTJ | 85.4 | | ISFJ | 79.6 | | ISTP | 70.5 | | ESTJ | 68.4 | | INTJ | 63.2 | Best-fitting types: ISTJ. ## Related occupations O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order. - [Cardiovascular Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cardiovascular-technologist-and-technician) — median $74,310 - [Radiologic Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiologic-technologist-and-technician) — median $80,110 - [Neurodiagnostic Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/neurodiagnostic-technologist) — median $50,290 - [Radiation Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiation-therapist) — median $105,310 - [Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/magnetic-resonance-imaging-technologist) — median $95,480 - [Ophthalmic Medical Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ophthalmic-medical-technologist) — median $50,290 - [Endoscopy Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/endoscopy-technician) — median $48,430 - [Surgical Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-technologist) — median $64,650 - [Nuclear Medicine Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nuclear-medicine-technologist) — median $101,370 - [Surgical Assistant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surgical-assistant) — median $66,800 ### Diagnostic Medical Sonographer compared with - [Radiology Tech vs Ultrasound Tech](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiology-tech-vs-ultrasound-tech) — side by side on BLS wage percentiles, projected growth, openings and entry requirements ## Sources - **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html - **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/ - **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/ - **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ - **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area --- This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer