Traveling sonographers have many job opportunities.
Sonography, also known as ultrasonography, is part of the diagnostic imaging field. Different from X-rays, sonography uses sound waves to create an image used to assess and diagnosis a medical condition. While this type of technology is very common in the obstetrics field, it is also used for many other parts of the body, including abdominal sonography, breast sonography, neurosonography and vascular sonography. If you are considering becoming a sonographer in one these fields, don't rule out a traveling position.
Traveling Work Environment
While many sonographers work permanently in healthcare facilities and physician offices, some professionals work as contract employees for medical staffing agencies. These types of sonographers are paid to travel to different healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes and doctors' offices. Others work full-time for mobile imaging services and travel to patients' homes. Some patients are immobile and live in remote areas, so they wouldn't have access to this type of advanced diagnostic service without traveling sonographers. Work hours for the position vary from assignment to assignment. Some are standard 40-hour work weeks during normal business hours, while others require working nights and weekends.
Qualifications
In order to pursue a traveling sonography career, you must complete a four-year Bachelor's degree program or a specialized, two-year associate degree program. Sonography programs are offered at universities, technical schools and hospitals. Common coursework for these types of degrees include anatomy, ethical issues, patient care and actual sonography machine classes. If you already work in the healthcare field, you may be able to complete a one-year sonography training and certification course to begin this type of career.
Salary
Sonographers made a median annual salary of more than $61,000 in May 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid made around $40,000 a year, while the highest-paid made more than $80,000 a year. Sonographers who work in physicians' offices made a little more than those who worked in medical or surgical hospitals. Traveling sonographers who work as contract employees typically make higher hourly wages than those in permanent positions, because they are usually responsible for paying taxes on their wages independently.
Future Outlook and Opportunities
Due to the shift toward outpatient care, as well as medical technological advances, the traveling sonography career path is expected to continue growing. According to the Mayo Clinic, employment of these types of professionals should grow faster than other occupations through 2016.
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