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The medical field as a whole is experiencing monumental growth, largely due to the health care needs of the aging baby boomer population. Diagnostic medical sonographers can expect to see an additional 9,200 jobs open up in the next few years as the field grows by 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What Is a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer?

Medical sonographers are trained diagnostic experts who perform ultrasound readings of internal organs and structures, such as muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, breasts, testes, and the brain. Ultrasound images are captured at the request of a physician, who later examines the results in order to make a diagnosis or rule out a variety of medical conditions.

Ultrasounds are widely used in obstetrics, gynecology, oncology, neurology, cardiology, and emergency medicine. Medical sonographers must be able to interact with a variety of medical patients to take precise diagnostic images in a professional manner. They must also record patient histories and maintain equipment tests and logs. It's important for people working in this field to be detail-oriented, compassionate, patient, and thorough in order to work well with patients and produce useful ultrasound images.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer Salary: 2009 Figures

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean diagnostic medical sonographer salary in 2009 was $63,640, with the highest paid 10 percent of sonographers earning more than $85,950. Salary.com reports comparable figures, with a median income of $64,661 annually.

About 59 percent of sonographers work in hospitals, where they are employed to perform ultrasounds for a variety of diagnostic purposes. Sonographers working in hospitals earned a mean annual wage of $63,770 in 2009, roughly equivalent to the wage of sonographers working in doctor's offices, the second-largest employer, at $63,820. Top-paying industries for sonographers include employment services, management, and specialty hospitals, but wages were only slightly higher in those fields, with mean wages between $67,070 and $68,020.

Diagnostic sonographers are especially in demand in Florida, Connecticut, New Mexico, Alabama, and Rhode Island, while the top-paying states for this field include Massachusetts ($78,460), Oregon ($78,320), Colorado ($77,380), Washington ($76,980), and Alaska ($75,500).

The most promising cities for job-seekers interested in a top diagnostic medical sonographer salary in 2009 and beyond include Santa Cruz, California; San Jose, California; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Boulder, Colorado, which all offer mean annal wages higher than $80,000.

Medical Sonographer Education and Training

Diagnostic medical sonographer training is available online, as well as through hospitals, career colleges, universities, and the Armed Forces. The majority of diagnostic sonographers have at least an associate's or a bachelor's degree in sciences, health, mathematics, and other related fields before entering a program of study in this career.

Most diagnostic medical sonographer training online or in class consists of two-year programs of study focusing on anatomy, physics, instrumentation, medical ethics, and diagnostic protocols and techniques. Over 150 one- and two-year training programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. With a variety of entry points on the path to becoming a medical sonographer, those who wish to begin a career in this growing field can find many avenues to gain the required qualifications and expertise.