My family and I have been living in London for the past 15 years or so. We moved here from Toronto and haven’t regretted the decision for a single day. Working as an ultrasound technician is a great way to live here in this great city. While the rest of this website has lots of info on London, I want to talk a little bit about my career, why I chose it, and how being an ultrasound technician makes living here a joy. Please excuse me if I talk a bit much about my job. I do thoroughly enjoy it.
First up, what does an ultrasound technician do? Well, the job of an ultrasound technician is to safely and correctly operate an ultrasound machine in a variety of circumstances. While that may not seem complex, that’s not really the truth of the matter. Why? Because ultrasound machines are used in so many parts of the medical field. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of an ultrasound machine is the viewing of unborn babies inside their mothers, and yes that is one of the niches. However, there are so many more things this amazing machine can do. They are used to look into the human eye, to check out a person’s heart and lungs, to see what’s going on in a person’s belly (baby or no baby) and they can be used to examine the brain. They are even used to guide an anesthesiologist when inserting needles in delicate places.
As you can imagine, with so many different uses for the ultrasound machine, a person working as an ultrasound technician is going to be able to really narrow down what sub-field of this niche that they enjoy working in. And this is what, over time, turns this job into a rather good money maker. Imagine spending the next 20 years experimenting, trying this aspect or that aspect of the ultrasound technician career, choosing one, says cardiovascular, and then really digging into it and getting very good at your job. That’s what I have done. I am currently employed as a cardiovascular ultrasound technician at one of London’s largest medical centers.
How did I get the job? Well, it took a little work. I went to school for 4 years in a bachelor’s program. Jumped through all the hoops and got myself legal. My wife and I were living in Toronto at the time and I worked here and there for about 5 years. But when we decided to make the move, we did some research, some good job hunting, and got a plum assignment here. My wife is an RN and we came as a package. Our employer was happy to get us and we were happy to move.
Salaries for ultrasound technicians have gone up over the years we’ve been living in London and that has suited us just fine. I am currently making over the median of 65,000 dollars a year. How much over? Shhh. Can’t say. But it’s not small.
I can’t say enough how much we enjoy our life here in London, Ontario. And for us, my job as an ultrasound technician is a big part of that. I highly recommend anyone who is looking for a good stable career that brings home a decent wage to look into being an ultrasound technician. There’s lots of information on the web about it, but one site I like is tuns.ca. They’ve got a fair amount of info without a lot of hype. Whether you are living in London or not, working as an ultrasound technician or not we wish you luck in life
Steven Williamson has lived in London, Ontario for the past 15 years with his wife and two children. He has been an ultrasound technician since he moved here. He and his family love riding bikes and cross country skiing. They wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else.