A young Englishwoman has revealed how her obscure job as a specialist medical sonographer pays almost $100 an hour, but has a ‘huge shortage’ of workers.
The woman, stopped at Sydney’s Bondi Beach for a social media street interview for a recruitment company, said she had ‘no trouble’ finding a job in the area.
‘I’m a cardiac sonographer, I scan hearts for a living,’ she told jobs app GetAhead, adding that her pay was ‘$85 to $95 an hour’.
That rate would mean she makes almost $200,000 a year.
‘I did a three year degree and it was two years after that to specialise into sonography,’ she added.
‘Been doing it for the last 10 years, love it – wouldn’t change jobs.’
The woman said the job was little-known and most people didn’t even realise it was an option.
‘Not enough people know it, because we only had eight people in my degree,’ she said. ‘Everyone just thinks doctors and nurses exist in a hospital.
‘There’s a huge shortage, I literally had no trouble finding a job out here.’
The woman, stopped at Bondi Beach, said she had ‘no trouble’ finding a job in the area
A typical salary for a sonographer in Australia is $120,000 and the role is projected to grow by 14.7 per cent over the next 5 years
She admitted that she did have to contend with stress because her patients depended on her to do the job well.
‘It’s a weird stress because obviously you’re dealing with people’s lives,’ she said.
‘So if you have a bad day at work it can be a really bad day, because you might lose someone.
‘But you’re there to help, and 9 times out of 10, you’re making people’s lives more positive.’
Sonographers use ultrasonic equipment to take anatomical images based on the requests of doctors.
A typical salary for a sonographer in Australia is $120,000 and the role is projected to grow by 14.7 per cent over the next 5 years, according to job website, Seek.
Trainees begin with an undergraduate degree in a related field, which takes 3 to 4 years.
They then complete a graduate diploma of medical ultrasound, which takes 2 years part-time.
