Travel EKG Tech Jobs

EKGs help doctors detect abnormalities in heart function.

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Cardiovascular technicians, sometimes called EKG technicians, use electrocardiogram instruments to monitor the heart function of patients. They work in a variety of health care settings, such as hospitals, medical laboratories, outpatient centers and physician's offices. EKG technicians usually prepare for their careers through a one-year postsecondary program or an on-the-job training period of four to six weeks.

National Average Pay and Pay Range

Cardiovascular technicians reported an average wage of $25.51 an hour to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2012. They earned an average salary of $53, 050 a year. The median-earning half of cardiovascular techs made between $17.76 and $32.46 an hour, while the lowest-paid 10 percent earned $13.38 or less per hour and the highest-paid 10 percent made $38.84 or more per hour.

Pay by State

Cardiovascular technicians reported a wide variance in average wages across the country in 2012. Alaska paid the highest average wage, $38.61 per hour. Several states in the West and Northeast reported high average pay of over $30 an hour, including Washington at $32.17, New Jersey at $32.04, Massachusetts at $31.76, Oregon at $31.29, Rhode Island at $31.24, Connecticut at $30.44 and New Hampshire at $30.28. The two lowest-paying states in the nation were Louisiana at $19.08 per hour and Mississippi at $19.94.

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Pay by Type of Facility

Hospitals, which employ the majority of cardiovascular technicians, paid them an average of $25.03 per hour across the country as of 2012. Those who worked in medical and diagnostic laboratories reported a somewhat higher average wage of $26.03 an hour, while outpatient care centers paid cardiovascular techs an average of $27.07 an hour. Cardiovascular technicians employed by physician's offices averaged $27.56 an hour, while those working for specialty hospitals reported an average hourly wage of $27.84.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for cardiovascular technicians is expected to be good through 2020. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 14 percent job increase for the American economy between 2010 and 2020 and a 26 percent job increase for all health technicians, jobs for cardiovascular techs are expected to increase by an even greater 29 percent. This rate of growth will create an estimated 14, 500 additional jobs for cardiovascular technicians by the end of the decade.