Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Operation and Control
- Writing
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Physics
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Administrative
What the work involves
- Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
- 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.
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- 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.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.
- Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (67.1% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (65.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (29.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Diagnostic Medical Sonographers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 97% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 52% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 83% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 56% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 69% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 66% of occupations compared | 77% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 89% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 95% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.98%
- Constant contact with others: 97.02%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 19.22%
- Important: 16.46%
- Very important: 0.12%
- Extremely important: 48.88%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.8%
- Important: 0.7%
- Very important: 18.28%
- Extremely important: 75.22%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 2.27%
- Limited freedom: 32.1%
- Some freedom: 21.87%
- A lot of freedom: 43.76%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 44.44%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.09%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.6%
- Every day: 49.88%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 1.56%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.38%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 77.26%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 0.98%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 45.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.67%
- Every day: 30.22%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 1.25%
- Fairly serious: 8.48%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 0.09%
- Extremely serious: 74.76%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2026
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 29-2032.00 · SOC 29-2032 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8