Know-It: Ultrasound Technology

Posted by miuki as Advertorial

I have no idea what ultrasound tech is or what ultrasound tech school teaches, but I guess I’m about the find out…

Ultrasound Technology operates on scientific principles utilized by such animals as bats and dolphins.

The term ultrasound actually refers to

any sound above a frequency 20,000 hertz, or the maximum limit of human hearing. Although we cannot perceive these sounds, a variety of natural creatures can both detect and produce ultra-high frequency acoustic signals.

Bats, for instance, emit ultrasonic sounds and then listen for them to be echoed off their surroundings. From the duration and volume of these echoes, a bat is able to create a picture of his environment that allows him to navigate and catch tiny insects in pitch darkness. In fact, the precision of this method is nothing short of staggering: a bat can tell the difference between a flying moth and a falling leaf while flying at full speed!

Interesting eh?

Anyhow. Ultrasound Technicians basically go to a so-called ‘ultrasound technician school‘ to learn stuff related to… You get the drift.

After these ‘ultrasound technicians‘ graduate and start working, they mainly deal with machines that are commonly used for pregnant women to see the unborn child.

In other words, the ultrasound schools basically teaches their student how to use such machine and other equipment, along with teaching how to interact with patients and keep the equipment in good working order.

Oh yes! And as disgusting as it may sound, in time to come, these ‘grads‘ will slowly begin to get used to looking at organs and internal areas of the body that can not be seen by x-rays! (This is so not my cup of tea.)

Sometimes it pains me to read so much.

So the question now comes down to…

How much do these ‘Ultrasound Technicians‘ earn?

The median annual salary for an ultrasound technician was $48,660 in 2002, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest 10 percent of ultrasound tech salaries exceeded $65,000.

If I’m not wrong, that’s in US dollars. Thus, it’s probably 4 times what an average executive earns in a year?

So… Are you considering a career in ‘Ultrasound Technology’ now?