OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Prepare vaccines and serums for prevention of diseases. Prepare tissue samples, take blood samples, and execute laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood counts. Clean and sterilize instruments and materials and maintain equipment and machines. May assist a veterinarian during surgery.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Veterinary technologists and technicians typically do the following:
- Observe the behavior and condition of animals
- Provide nursing care or emergency first aid to recovering or injured animals
- Bathe animals, clip nails or claws, and brush or cut animals’ hair
- Restrain animals during exams or procedures
- Administer anesthesia to animals and monitor their responses
- Take x rays and collect and perform laboratory tests, such as urinalyses and blood counts
- Prepare animals and instruments for surgery
- Administer medications, vaccines, and treatments prescribed by a veterinarian
- Collect and record animals’ case histories
In addition to helping veterinarians during animal exams, veterinary technologists and technicians do a variety of clinical, care, and laboratory tasks.
Veterinary technologists and technicians who work in research-related jobs ensure that animals are handled carefully and are treated humanely. They may help veterinarians or scientists on research projects in areas such as biomedical research, disaster preparedness, and food safety.
Typically working with small-animal practitioners who care for cats and dogs, veterinary technologists and technicians also may have tasks that involve mice, cattle, or other animals.
Veterinary technologists and technicians may specialize in a particular discipline, such as dentistry, anesthesia, emergency and critical care, and zoological medicine.
Veterinary technologists typically work in more advanced research-related jobs, usually under the guidance of a scientist or veterinarian. Some technologists work in private clinical practices. Working primarily in a laboratory setting, they may administer medications; prepare tissue samples for examination; or record an animal’s genealogy, weight, diet, and signs of pain.
Veterinary technicians generally work in private clinical practices under the guidance of a licensed veterinarian. Technicians may do laboratory tests, such as a urinalysis, and help veterinarians conduct a variety of other diagnostic tests. Although they do some of their work in a laboratory, technicians also talk with animal owners. For example, they explain a pet’s condition or how to administer medication prescribed by a veterinarian.
Salary
Median salary: $36,260 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $30,030 and $43,890.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for veterinary technologists and technicians
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of veterinary technologists and technicians who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites (78%)
- Radiation Exposure (76%)
- Exposed to Disease or Infections (74%)
- Time Pressure (71%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (68%)
- Consequence of Error (65%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (62%)
- Unpleasant or Angry People (56%)
- Hazardous Conditions (51%)
- High Conflict Frequency (39%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Veterinary Technologists and Technicians? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
Veterinary technologists and technicians communicate with supervisors, other staff, and animal owners. A growing number of technicians counsel pet owners on animal behavior and nutrition.
Compassion
Veterinary technologists and technicians must treat animals with kindness and must be sensitive when dealing with the owners of sick pets.
Detail oriented
Veterinary technologists and technicians must pay attention to detail. They must be precise when recording information, performing diagnostic tests, and administering medication.
Manual dexterity
Veterinary technologists and technicians must handle animals, medical instruments, and laboratory equipment with care. They need a steady hand for intricate tasks such as doing dental work, giving anesthesia, and taking x rays.
Physical strength
Veterinary technologists and technicians need to be able to manage and lift animals.
Injury and Illness
About 242 veterinary technologists and technicians become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 95% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
All cuts, lacerations, punctures
Soreness and pain
Bruises and contusions
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by veterinary technologists and technicians
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), veterinary technologists and technicians typically hold a associate's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as veterinary technologists and technicians as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for veterinary technologists and technicians
Veterinary technologists usually have a 4-year bachelor’s degree in veterinary technology. Veterinary technicians usually have a 2-year associate’s degree in a veterinary technology program. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredits veterinary technology programs. Most of these programs offer a 2-year associate’s degree for veterinary technicians; others offer a 4-year bachelor’s degree for veterinary technologists
People interested in becoming a veterinary technologist or technician can prepare by taking biology and other science courses in high school.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for veterinary technologists and technicians
Although each state regulates veterinary technologists and technicians differently, most candidates must pass a credentialing exam. Most states require technologists and technicians to pass the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE), offered by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards.
Education level of Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
Only 23% of veterinary technologists and technicians have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by veterinary technologists and technicians
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click the program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Veterinary Technologists and Technicians per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most veterinary technologists and technicians? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as veterinary technologists and technicians. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where veterinary technologists and technicians earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for veterinary technologists and technicians compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for veterinary technologists and technicians.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which veterinary technologists and technicians earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Veterinary Technologists and Technicians (ACS)
Employment
24% of Veterinary technologists and technicians are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 24% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 76% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of veterinary technologists and technicians by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Veterinary technologists and technicians and gender
With 87% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 95% of careers.
Gender of Veterinary technologists and technicians
Men (13%)
Women (87%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%.
The situation is a little better for veterinary technologists and technicians, with the
median salary for men 5%
higher than the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Veterinary technologists and technicians
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Veterinary technologists and technicians.
Race/origin of veterinary technologists and technicians
White (75% )
Black (12% )
Asian (5% )
Other (3% )
Multiracial (3% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
