What Is a Veterinary Technician's Salary?
The 79,200 people employed as veterinary technicians and technologists in the United States in May 2009 earned an average salary of about $30,000 yearly, according to the occupational employment and wages survey by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), though those in the five highest paying states made $35,000 or more and four of the five best paying industries featured average annual salaries in excess of $40,000.
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Average Salary
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Veterinary technicians and technologists made an average, or mean, hourly wage of $14.70 in May 2009, the BLS reports, which equates to an annual average salary of $30,580. Hourly wage estimates by the BLS are calculated by averaging the hourly wages of all survey respondents in a given occupation. This wage estimate is then multiplied by 2,080--the number of hours a full-time employee works in a year, not counting overtime--to come up with the average annual salary estimate.
Median Salary
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The median salary for a veterinary technician or technologist in May 2009 was slightly lower than the average salary, at $14.08 per hour, or $29,280 annually.
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Salary Range
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Hourly wages for veterinary technicians and technologists ranged from $9.70 or less for the most poorly paid 10 percent of workers in this occupation to $20.71 or more for the best paid 10th of employees in this sector. On an annual basis, the highest paid 10 percent of veterinary technicians and technologists made $43,080 or more, while the lowest paid 10th of people in this occupation made $20,180 or less.
Top-Paying Industries
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The federal executive branch was the highest paying industry for veterinary technicians and technologists in May 2009, with average wages of $22.60 per hour, or roughly $47,020 per year. General medical and surgical hospitals came next, paying an average of $20.39 per hour, or about $42,410 per year, while the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry was third, with average wages of $19.53 hourly, or $40,630 annually. The architectural, engineering and related services sector paid $19.31 per hour, or approximately $40,170 per year. In fifth place was the medical and diagnostic laboratory industry, with average wages of $19.03 per hour, or roughly $39,590 per year.
Top-Paying Regions
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Veterinary technicians and technologists earned the most in Connecticut, New York, the District of Columbia, California and Nevada in May 2009. The top three areas all had annual average salaries in excess of $36,000, with Connecticut at $36,360, New York at $36,250 and the District of Columbia at $36,160. The fourth- and fifth-place states paid more than $35,000 per year on average, with California veterinary technicians and technologists earning an average yearly income of $35,720, while those in Nevada made $35,260.
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References
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