Someone who loves animals might want to become a veterinary technician, but that concerned person may not know how to become a vet tech.
A veterinary technician works in many different settings, from labs to colleges and even in veterinary hospitals and offices. But they all have one thing in common that they love animals and want to help to care for the animals in some of the other ways they can.
What does a Vet Tech do
As a veterinary technician duty can vary from day to day and workplace to workplace but one thing that every vet tech do is helping the animals, the veterinarian and the animal’s owner.
Other duties include:
1- Give medicines and vaccines to sick and healthy animals.
2- Bathe animals.
3- Perform various test and examination in the lab.
4- Collect a variety of samples.
5- Providing emergency care and first aid.
6- Assist the veterinarians during the examination.
7- Assisting with or performing diagnostic tests like a blood test, urinalysis and feral exams.
8- Helping in prior treatment of surgery, during surgery and after surgery.
9- Educating owners about the care of animals, preventing diseases, treating diseases and concerns about behaviour.
10- Placement of IV catheter and phlebotomy placement.
11- Providing emergency treatment to sick and injured animals.
12- Making sure that animals are treated and taken care humanely in the labs.
13- Take x-rays and help animals in diagnosing.
HOW MUCH IT PAYS
One question that many people is curious about is how much does it pays or what is the salary of a vet tech?
So, the pay that a vet tech receive is fluctuating. It is based upon various factors.
Experience
Specialization
Work environment
Amount of schooling
So, if planning to become a veteran technician, keep the above factors in mind. The national average salary of vet tech ranges from $21,890 to $47,410 with 10% of people having $22K, 50% as $32K and 90% veteran having $47K as their annual income.
However, this data can vary depending upon the country, state and location.
Guide to become a veterinary Tech
A curious person knows how to become a vet tech can become a vet tech by following the given steps:
Step 1- Get a High school Diploma
Before you can go on to becoming a veterinary technician, The aspirants will need to graduate from high school or get you GED. This can help them to take science courses such as biology, chemistry and languages like English that can lead the path of becoming a veterinary tech.
It might also be helpful to learn additional foreign languages, such as Spanish, German, Japanese as they may have clients that may not speak English very well.
Step 2- Get your Associate’s Degree
Earning your associate degree may help you get into the workforce much faster and learn the job duties at the entry-level. Many community colleges often introduce excellent programs for vet technician training where you can also get the option of online training. Average Training Program Duration is 2 – 3 Years.
Before selecting a school for an associate degree, students should check whether it’s been accredited by the AVMA and satisfies all the educational requirements or not.
It takes about two years to get your associate degree. Most states require you to pass a four-hour test known as the VTNE. This test of 200 questions measure competency at the entry-level and cover things like dentistry procedures, animal nursing, lab procedures and other topics. VTNE assesses someone’s eligibility for their license.
Step 3- How about getting a specialization
If the aspirants think of getting a specialization, might have better job prospects.
Some programs that will let you take specialization courses are:
Emergency
Lab animal
Public health
Exotic animal
Dentistry
Step 4- Sharpen your related skills
Apart from your course knowledge, a person should also have other essential skills that could help a career. Skills such as communication and teamwork are the abilities that could help a person to interact with the people work and patient’s owners.
Sharpening your skills will help you in your career.
Step 5- Get your required Credentials
In most states, veterinary technician credentials are the primary requirement. Depending upon the state, the credentials of vet tech might include:
An LVT or a Licensed Veterinary Technician issued by the veterinary the medical board of the country.
A CVT or a Certified Veterinary Technician obtained by a professional or private program.
An RVT or a Registered Veterinary Technician has given by the government agencies.
Also, most states use the national exams to license veterinary technicians and if planning to work in research, need AALAS
certification.
Step 6- Training on the job
Once get employment, Someone going to get training while working with a licensed vet. These training programs may involve the use of various related equipment during their training. They may have a shorter training period if they are graduated from one of these programs.
Step 7- Grab career advancement opportunities
There are a lot of opportunities that could help them to get promoted eventually. These career advancement opportunities include attending conventions and events or taking online courses. This will also have them overseeing veterinary assistants and junior technicians.
So gain more experience and new skills that will open more opportunities. May these steps answer your question “how to become a vet tech”. if you
follow these steps you can make a promising career in this field.
Job Outlook and Growth for Vet Techs
The job outlook and Growth for vet tech have shown a significant improvement. The the job outlook for veterinary technicians has shown a growth of 20% between now and 2026 whereas the growth rate is much faster than average compared to other occupations.
Since the care and love for animals have increased a lot among people therefore it’s expected that the demand for a veterinary technician is going to Increase in the coming years. This will also increase the job opportunities for vet techs. Vet Tech is, therefore, an ideal choice for those who are looking for a career with favourable growth potential.
Employment Growth Rate: 20%
Should you become a Vet Tech
Other than how to become a vet tech, you may have additional questions in mind. These questions may be should you become a vet tech, is it a satisfying job, what the average salary, what the amount of Growth, what else you need and many more. So, given information will help you to answer these questions.
Overall satisfaction: High
If you are kind-hearted for animals and want to help and protect them in anyway you can then this is the most satisfying career for you as this is the a job where you’ll be working with a lot of animals. However, it’s essential to consider the different types of veterinary technicians and the animals that they work with so that you can choose the best for you.
Average salary: Medium
The average annual salary for a veterinary technician ranges between $21,890 to $47,410 however, the average salary of a veterinary technician is $31,800 and per hour is $17.40. Also, their pay may fluctuate depending upon the various factors. These factors include:
Amount of experience they have
Types of credentials they have
Where they live
Any specialities they have
Where they work as a vet tech
Job Outlook and Growth: High
The job outlook for veterinary technicians has shown a growth of 20% between now and 2026 whereas the growth rate is much faster than average compared to other occupations.
Many households now have pets which increase the need for veterinary technicians and many job opportunities for the veterinary technician. Therefore, with time it is becoming a job with good growth potential.
Education Duration: 2-3 Years
The Education duration for a veterinary technician is concise as compared to other education programs. It also takes 2-3 years to become a vet tech. Let’s hope the aspirants might have got the answer to all the questions on how to become a vet tech.
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