# How to become an ultrasound technician

The usual route is a 2-year associate degree in sonography, then ARDMS certification. With college or clinical hours behind you, 12 to 18 months.

- **Author:** MedJobList Team
- **Published:** Jul 25, 2026

## What an ultrasound technician does

An ultrasound technician operates ultrasound equipment to produce the images a physician reads to make a diagnosis. The formal title for the job is diagnostic medical sonographer, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses both names for the same occupation. Employers mix them freely, so the same work gets posted as ultrasound technician, ultrasound technologist, or sonographer.

Sonography is often the first imaging test ordered when disease is suspected, and sonographers scan abdomens, blood vessels, hearts, and pregnancies. Most of the work happens at the machine in a dimly lit exam room: positioning patients, capturing images, checking them for quality, and summarizing what you found for the physician. Sonographers held about 90,000 US jobs in 2024, and 57% of those were in hospitals and 21% in physicians' offices (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024 data).

## How long it takes to become an ultrasound technician

Plan on 2 years of full-time study in the program itself if you're starting from scratch, and 12 to 18 months if you already have college or clinical work behind you. Prerequisite courses come first, and programs admit one small cohort at a time, once a year or every other year, so the whole path takes longer than the program does.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Prerequisite courses | Varies with what you have already taken. Labette Community College's list is college algebra, English composition or public speaking, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and physics (2026). |
| Associate degree in sonography | 24 months of full-time study at CT State's CAAHEP-accredited program, which is typical for the degree route. |
| Shorter route, if you qualify for one | 12 to 18 months. Washburn University runs a 1-year advanced certificate; UC San Diego Health runs 14 months; Labette runs 14 months and awards an associate degree; Foothill College runs 18 months (program pages, 2026). |
| Waiting for a seat | Up to a year at most schools, up to 2 at some. Labette takes up to 25 students, starts one cohort each June, and opens applications the previous fall; Foothill admits 15 to 20 students every other year. |
| Total, with no college behind you | About 3 years, prerequisites and the admission cycle included. |

## The degree or program you need

Accreditation is the thing to check first: a CAAHEP-accredited associate degree or postsecondary certificate in diagnostic medical sonography lets you sit the ARDMS exams as soon as you graduate. BLS lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for the occupation.

CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and it accredits sonography programs on the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). Both publish their lists, so check a school at [caahep.org](https://www.caahep.org/) before you pay a deposit. A program without that accreditation can put you on a different ARDMS pathway, one that wants documented clinical hours on top of the schooling.

With no college credit behind you, you enroll in a 2-year associate program that has clinical rotations built into it. The shorter programs are for people who already have college credit or clinical hours, and what gets you in differs by school:

- UC San Diego Health wants a bachelor's degree in any subject, or a 2-year radiologic technology program with the registry exam passed, plus 40 documented hours of direct patient contact.
- Washburn University wants an associate degree or higher in a healthcare program.
- Labette Community College wants an associate or bachelor's degree plus 6 months of hands-on patient care within the past 2 years, counting work as a CNA, patient care tech, EMT, radiographer, nurse, or respiratory therapist.
- Foothill College wants the hours: 2 or more years of direct patient care at a minimum of 1,500 hours a year. Its degree requirement starts with the Fall 2027 application cycle.

Lecture coursework can be online. Labette and Washburn both teach their lecture courses that way and send students to an approved clinical site near home, and all four programs in the list above keep their scanning hours on site.

If a program wants patient-care hours you don't have yet, the usual fix is a short-training clinical job first. Our guide to [healthcare jobs with no experience](/guides/healthcare-jobs-no-experience) covers which of those roles have the shortest training.

## Getting licensed or certified

Four states license sonographers: New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oregon (Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, checked July 2026). Everywhere else the employer sets the requirement, usually national certification.

That certification is RDMS, issued by the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography. You earn it by passing a physics exam plus a clinical specialty exam, and US imaging employers name it in their postings. What the exams cover, what they cost, and how renewal works are in our [RDMS certification guide](/guides/rdms-certification). Some imaging departments accept the [ARRT](/guides/arrt-certification) sonography credential in its place. A current [BLS or CPR card](/guides/bls-cpr-certification) is a common add-on: the Occupational Outlook Handbook lists it as something these workers may also need.

## Step by step: how to become an ultrasound technician

1. Finish high school or a GED, and take anatomy, physiology, physics, and math while you're there. BLS says high school students may benefit from those classes.
2. Clear the prerequisite college courses. Anatomy and physiology, physics, college algebra, and medical terminology are typical. Labette wants the anatomy and physiology course taken within the past 5 years.
3. Pick your route: a 2-year associate degree, or a 12-to-18-month program if you qualify for one.
4. Get patient-care hours if your school asks for them. Foothill and Labette both count work as an EMT or a radiographer, and Labette also counts CNA and patient care tech time.
5. Check the program's accreditation before you apply.
6. Apply a full cycle ahead. Cohorts are small, and a missed deadline costs you a year at Labette and two at Foothill, which admits every other year.
7. Finish the program, clinical rotations included.
8. Sit the ARDMS exams and start applying to the openings in your state.

## What ultrasound technicians earn

The median wage for diagnostic medical sonographers was $89,340 a year, or $42.95 an hour, in May 2024 ([BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/diagnostic-medical-sonographers.htm)). That is the national midpoint across all experience levels, so a first job out of a program usually pays under it.

Demand explains part of the number. BLS projects employment to grow 13% between 2024 and 2034, much faster than the average across occupations, with about 5,800 openings a year over the decade. One Minnesota health system in our listings currently posts an ultrasound sonographer job at $44.03 to $59.90 an hour (MedJobList, July 2026).

## Where the job leads next

The next step up is usually a higher level of the same job at the same kind of employer. One New Jersey health system in our listings grades the role by level, posting Cardiovascular Ultrasound Tech I, II, III, and IV side by side (MedJobList, July 2026).

A second specialty widens the postings you match, since vascular and cardiac scanning get posted as separate jobs from general diagnostic work. Which registry credential goes with which kind of scanning is in the [RDMS guide](/guides/rdms-certification).

## Where ultrasound technicians are hiring now

Right now 183 of the active US openings we track are sonographer roles. They come from hospital systems and imaging departments around the country, and the postings carry the job's many names: Ultrasound Technologist, Ultrasound Technician, Sonographer, Cardiac Sonographer, and Vascular Sonographer all appear.

Per diem shifts, also posted as PRN, show up among the current listings, and they are a practical way to get scanning hours at more than one site early on. Credentials named in these postings include RDMS, ARRT, and BLS or CPR. You can see the current set on our [sonographer jobs](/diagnostic-medical-sonographer-jobs) page.

## FAQ

### How long does it take to become an ultrasound technician?

About 2 years of full-time study for an associate degree in diagnostic medical sonography, or 12 to 18 months for a shorter program if you already have college credit or clinical hours. Counting prerequisite courses and the wait for a seat in a cohort, 2 to 3 years is realistic if you are starting with no college.

### How many years of college do you need to be an ultrasound tech?

2 years for the sonography degree itself, plus the prerequisite courses that come before it. Bachelor's degrees in sonography exist too, and those take 4.

### Can you become an ultrasound technician online?

Partly. Lecture coursework runs online at several CAAHEP-accredited programs, and the clinical rotations happen in person at an approved site near you.

### Do you need to be certified to work as an ultrasound technician?

In practice yes, because employers ask for it. US imaging departments generally name ARDMS certification in their postings. Only four states license sonographers: New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oregon (SDMS, July 2026). See our [RDMS certification guide](/guides/rdms-certification) for the exams and their cost.

### How much do ultrasound technicians make?

The median was $89,340 a year, or $42.95 an hour, in May 2024 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). What you earn moves with your state and the specialty you scan.

### Is ultrasound technician a good career?

The job is growing quickly: BLS projects 13% employment growth for diagnostic medical sonographers between 2024 and 2034. The physical side is the tradeoff, since the work involves long periods of standing and lifting or turning patients.

Source: https://medjoblist.com/guides/how-to-become-an-ultrasound-technician