How to become a veterinary technician

Remember, the national average salary for veterinary technicians was $34,420 per year in 2018. Depending on your experience, location, and education, you can potentially earn more – for example, the highest paid vet techs in 2018 earned as much as $50,010 per year.

The average salary for a veterinary technician is $22.17 per hour in Alberta. Was the salaries overview information useful?

Veterinary Technician Require A Degree

Veterinary technicians must be a graduate of an AVMA-approved program. This means, at minimum, a 2-year Associate’s degree in veterinary technology or animal science. Some veterinary technicians continue on to become veterinarians.

Often, entering the field of veterinary medicine as a Vet Tech is a great first step on the road to becoming a Veterinarian. This is because Vet Tech programs typically result in either an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree.

In most states, the wages of licensed vet techs are held down by the large number of unlicensed techs who are able to do most of the same jobs. Wages are also held down by the fact that the money paid to a veterinary clinic is much lower than that paid in human medicine for similar amounts of work.

If you want a career that will bring in huge monetary rewards, then being a vet tech, or even a veterinarian, or anything having to do with animals is not really “worth it”. If you have a passion for medicine, science, and animals and enjoy working with people, then it’s absolutely worth it!

Downsides. The clinic can be a stressful work environment. Technicians must be able to deal with upset owners, aggressive or uncooperative animals, euthanasia, and seeing severe injuries caused by trauma or neglect. Stress is one of the biggest factors cited by techs that decide to leave the profession.

On the opposite side of the coin, vet techs often quit because they feel as though their skills are being underutilized. This often occurs when the head veterinarian either isn’t comfortable delegating or is simply used to handling the majority of the clinical tasks for the practice.

Being a vet tech is stressful for a lot of obvious reasons, including long hours, a fast pace, difficult schedules, and having to do painful things to animals when you went into the field because you love them. But some of the reasons it’s hard to cope with the stress may be less obvious.

Currently around 10 states allow vet techs to perform euthanasia with (Direct) or without (Indirect) the veterinarian present. Nine states indicate the technician may perform it as long as the veterinarian is on site and able to assist should the need arise.

Vet techs have the authority to take x-rays, assist in surgery, and process tissue samples. Vet assistants typically ensure the conditions are ready for vet techs as they are required to clean animal cages, sanitize examination rooms and feed animals.

Vet Tech Requirements

A typical degree program completed by a veterinary technician lasts for two years and is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Vet tech certification, licensing, and registration requirements vary by state.