Polysomnography

Types of Degrees Polysomnography Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many polysomnography graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	81
Undergraduate Certificate	80
Associate Degree	72

What Polysomnography Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to polysomnography and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Polysomnography Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in polysomnography should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Polysomnography Majors

polysomnography majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Polysomnography Majors

As a polysomnography major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Polysomnography Major?

People with a polysomnography degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Neurodiagnostic Technologists	19.6%	$42,920

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Polysomnography?

This major is dominated by women with about 74% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of polysomnography majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	4
Black or African American	13
Hispanic or Latino	9
White	42
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Polysomnography. About 1.4% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Polysomnography Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to polysomnography is $47,450. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Polysomnography

Some careers associated with polysomnography require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for polysomnography careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	11.9%
Some College Courses	3.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	53.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	20.8%

Online Polysomnography Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	11	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	16	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Polysomnography Worth It?

The median salary for a polysomnography grad is $47,450 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 19% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $151,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Polysomnography

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to polysomnography.

Major	Number of Grads
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)	27,240
Physician Assistant	12,000
Radiologic Technology	10,633
Surgical Technology	7,412
Respiratory Care Therapy	6,569
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician	6,160
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy	4,080
Athletic Training	3,408
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	2,012
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist	1,367
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology	773
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician	652
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist	575
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist	391
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist	147
Mammography Technician/Technology	109
Cardiopulmonary Technology	51
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician	48
Hearing Instrument Specialist	18
Orthopedic Technology	17
Gene/Genetic Therapy	10

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.