Ask Me Help Desk - Career as a vet tech

Hi I don't know if I am asking in the right place or not... but if there are any veterinary technicians out there, I would appreciate some insight. I worked as a veterinary assistant/receptionist for about 2 years... and since then I ave never had a job I loved so much. I have such a passion for animals, especially dogs and horses. I recently had my first child, and am thinking about going back to school for something I enjoy, and the area I live in has some 2 and 4 year vet tech school programs I am interested in.
Does anyone have any experience in the job field? Is it hard to find a job? Is the money as poor as everyone says it is? Will I be wasting my money on school? One of my biggest dreams is to finish m education, but the only thing I feel a real pull towards is animals. I just don't want a "pointless degree" any thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rachie

hi i dont know if i am asking in the right place or not...but if there are any veterinary technicians out there, i would appreciate some insight. i worked as a veterinary assistant/receptionist for about 2 years...and since then i ave never had a job i loved so much. i have such a passion for animals, especially dogs and horses. i recently had my first child, and am thinking about going back to school for something i enjoy, and the area i live in has some 2 and 4 year vet tech school programs i am interested in.
does anyone have any experience in the job field? is it hard to find a job?? is the money as poor as everyone says it is? will i be wasting my money on school? one of my biggest dreams is to finish m education, but the only thing i feel a real pull towards is animals. i just dont want a "pointless degree" any thoughts??

Hi Rachie, my wife is a medical lab technologist and recently inquired about going into the vet tech field. She was told that the pay isn't all that high and since I'm not sure where you live quoting any salaries won't make sense. As for going back to school, well the first thing I would do is approach a vet hospital or clinic and simply ask them how you might get into the field. Since you are a new parent and perhaps time and money may not be as available have you ever considered a correspondance course. I know of a few schools that do offer correspondance courses in vet technology, however I'm not sure how recognized they might be by the vet tech association. My wife got a very good reception when she asked some of these questions directy to the vet techs. It might be worth a try.

Best of luck,

Stefano

You might do well as an animal massage therapist or chiropractor or shiatsu practitioner. There's a big demand for that now and I would bet any of those pay well, especially for a large animal population. Zoos especially are good employers of such therapists. Vets use them in their practice. Since so many pets and wild animals in captivity are stressed, it only makes sense to be able to relax them and calm them down.

There is a summary based on 2002 data at Veterinary Technician Salary - Vet Tech Salary

The bad news: the top 10% make more than 33,750. Now, it doesn't say how MUCH more than that, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it being dramatically higher.

We do have some vet techs here. Given time, they may give a good answer.