Veterinary technicians help animal patients get and stay healthy.
Helping care for paws, tails, wings and snouts, veterinary technicians assist veterinarians with their animal patients. Veterinary technicians may actually spend more time with the animal than the vet, taking patient vital signs and histories, performing routine examinations and administering immunizations. Vet techs may also stand in to assist the vet in surgeries or complicated procedures, along with monitoring animals overnight.
Facts
When the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted a study of wages in 2009, it discovered countrywide veterinary tech salaries averaging $14.70 per hour. The BLS also found certain industries paying vet techs significantly higher salaries. The federal executive branch of the government offered an hourly mean wage of $22.60. Medical and surgical hospitals also paid higher-than-average rates of $20.39 per hour.
Location
Vet techs working on either coast of the country earned the highest hourly rates in 2009. Almost tied for first and second place in the BLS' top-paying states for the profession were Connecticut, paying $17.48 per hour, and New York, paying $17.43 per hour. In third place and close behind was the District of Columbia, at $17.39 per hour, followed by California, at $17.17 per hour.
Considerations
The path to earning a salary as a vet tech usually starts with an associate's degree from one of the American Veterinary Medical Association's accredited college programs. Bachelor's degrees are also available. Vet techs must pass their state's licensing exam, which is usually the National Veterinary Technician exam.
Outlook
Cited as one of the faster-growing occupations, the veterinary technology field is expected to continue a 36 percent growth rate through 2018, adding 28,500 jobs across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS recommends food manufacturing, biomedical facilities, diagnostic laboratories and wildlife facilities as the best employment places to attain top salaries for vet techs.
Tags: animal patients, Bureau Labor, Bureau Labor Statistics, Department Labor, Department Labor Bureau
