What opportunities are open to animal lovers? What rewards can you expect aside from being constantly surrounded by two or four-legged furry friends? There's a veterinary technician salary that just may interest you to seriously consider this career. You'll need training at any accredited vet tech schools, but you've already got the prime ingredient for success - a heart for the job.
What to expect
It may also interest you to know that this career is not solely confined to animal clinics. There is a wealth of opportunities in animal research centers, zoos, animal shelters, wildlife sanctuaries, livestock health management and even pharmaceutical firms are employing veterinary technicians or technologists.
Although often used interchangeably, veterinary technicians and technologists differ in the length of training they receive. It's a two-year associate degree for the former, and a bachelor degree for technologists. But often they perform the same functions in the workplace and may receive the same veterinary technician salary sometimes.
So, you're bent on pursuing a career in the field of veterinary medicine. Yes, as a vet tech, you'll always be under the supervision of a veterinarian but he will rely on you heavily especially in performing routine tasks when checking on patients, aside from needing your support during procedures. Compensation vs responsibilities
What are your most basic responsibilities as veterinary tech? On any given day, expect to collect urine samples, perform skin scrapes, take and process x-rays, perform routine laboratory procedures and assist the vet during examinations.
These are mostly tasks in animal or veterinary clinics where you deal with domesticated pets like cats, dogs, birds, etc. The work may slightly differ in another set-up, like zoos or wildlife sanctuaries where you will likely be handling bigger and not necessarily tame species from the animal kingdom.
Supposing you completed an associate degree and are working as a technician, the entry level veterinary technician salary for someone with less than a year of experience ranges from $20,147 to $30,959. The disparity is precisely due to your work environment and the complexity of your responsibilities. For 2010, the vet technician's hourly rate is between $14.15 to $19.15, a slight increase from 2009.
As you gain experience - and this is perhaps the most vital factor that determines your salary in the long-term - you can expect to earn upwards in the range of $40,000. Education is important, too
Where you got the training to become a veterinary technician and how much time you spent in clinicals is just as crucial for employers. For starters, your school or program should be accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. It'll help if you're looking for financial aid for your studies, but the bottom line nowadays is: this is a MUST for employment that you attended an accredited school.
After you complete your degree, you need to get certified, licensed or registered - depending on what you state you will practice in. To accomplish this, you have to pass the Veterinary Technician National Exams. Aside from the test, some require a specific number of clinical training hours to qualify so be sure to check this even before enrolling to be able to comply. Employer that pays the most
You may find that you enjoy the animal clinic setting and build your career there. The size of your operations, again, will determine how much you can make over time. Likewise, your location is also a factor in your pay. A vet clinic in California will definitely offer a higher vet tech salary than one based in Wisconsin.
In clinics or shelters, excellent communication skills are necessary. Your patients might not be able to verbalize their feelings, but you will still have to talk to their owners.
But if you're looking to make the most for your position, then consider working for a pharmaceutical or medicine manufacturing company. It is said the best paying vet tech jobs are with them. The second is if you work for a state government, meaning a government agency tasked to deal with animals.
If you're interested in animal research, which is also one of the better paying jobs, you will also need a certification from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.
Over time, you may want to advance your career by taking on supervisory or training positions as many new technicians join the workforce. Further studies are required for this.
It's not just humans who require excellent health care these days. And owners feel better knowing their furry family members are in good hands. If you meet the criteria, it will definitely be a rewarding career, including your veterinary technician salary.
How would you like to make money doing something you love? What is a comfortable veterinary technician salary that will make it worthwhile for you to be with animals on a daily basis? Pet owners are becoming more demanding when it comes to their furry loved ones.
So veterinarians, to cope with the handling of their patients, rely on veterinary technicians or technologists for the many routine tasks. If you sincerely enjoy being with animals, you may find it very fulfilling to be in this profession.
Like many occupations, how much you earn are determined by several factors so if you're aiming to increase your veterinary technician salary, you will have to take these into account. EXPERIENCE
This is perhaps the most vital among the factors. It's not just the years you've put in the job but the situations that you had to handle in the course of performing it.
Unlike people who can verbalize their feelings when they are not feeling well or when suffering from a disease, animals do not have that ability. So being able to communicate and empathize with both the animals and their owners is extremely important in the course of treating them.
