Vet Assistant Vs. Vet Technician

Although there are differences between being a veterinary assistant and a veterinary technician, both spend an average day providing hands-on care for animals. Each position requires good communication and interpersonal skills and, more importantly, a genuine love and compassion for animals.

Job Responsibilities

Vet assistants usually provide basic services as directed by the veterinarian. They prepare treatment rooms for exams, restrain animals being examined, check weight, give injections, draw blood, and collect urine and stool samples. They might disinfect surgical areas or cages, set up veterinary equipment, and tend to basic needs of the practice.

Veterinary technicians require more training, as they often work independently. They monitor hospitalized animals, prepare animals for medical and surgical procedures, and are responsible for maintaining instruments and equipment. Skilled at recording medical histories, they are trained to provide nursing care and laboratory and radiology tests. They might conduct lab procedures and assist with surgery.

Education

Veterinary assistants can begin their careers right after high school, often without a college degree. Neither a license nor special training is usually required to enter the field. They are often trained in the office by the veterinarian to perform tasks as needed.

Veterinary technicians must graduate from an accredited two-year program that includes an internship. To become certified vet techs, students must pass a licensing exam in the states where they intend to practice. Courses typically include subjects such as anatomy, chemistry, anesthesiology, clinical practice, animal diseases, parasitology, pathology, pharmacology, radiology, or other medical specialties.

Salary

Because vet assistants can often begin work with a high school diploma, they start at a lower salary than other employees in the veterinary medicine field. According to Indeed.com, salaries in 2008 averaged $33,000 per year. Vet assistants can enter the field without having many years of experience.

After earning a two-year degree, veterinary technicians in the United States made between $27,000 and $39,000 in 2008, according to Vetinfo.com. With salaries dependent on location and responsibilities, vet techs at the higher end have experience or work in larger cities.

Practice Types

Vet assistants can work in private practices, animal hospitals, or research facilities. An advantage of being employed in a smaller facility is that some practices, especially those in rural areas, still offer on-the-job training. A small practice might have its vet assistant also answer phones.

Vet techs have more job options available to them, including working in private practices, emergency hospitals, research facilities, or zoos. Vet techs can also choose to specialize in fields such as anesthesiology, animal behavior, critical care, animal dentistry, or emergency medicine.

Considerations

Those torn between being a vet assistant or a vet tech must base the decision on personal and economic factors along with other considerations. Whichever career an animal lover chooses will likely lead to great job satisfaction. Those who start as veterinary assistants can always return to school for their degrees to become vet techs.

References

• Website of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
• Average salaries for vet assistants.
• Average salaries for vet techs.