Veterinary/Animal Health Technician

Types of Degrees Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate’s Degree	4,932
Undergraduate Certificate	2,829
Basic Certificate	1,009
Bachelor’s Degree	503

What Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant Majors

Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant Majors

veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	20.0%	$34,420

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary/Animal Health Technician?

The major attracts more women than men. About 93% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	97
Black or African American	99
Hispanic or Latino	918
White	3,431
International Students	15
Other Races/Ethnicities	372

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant. About 0.3% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $35,560 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Veterinary/Animal Health Technician

Some degrees associated with veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	6.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	7.6%
Some College Courses	1.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	39.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	7.8%
Master’s Degree	17.6%
Doctoral Degree	11.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	8.5%

Online Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 278 schools offered some type of veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	57	2
Certificate (1-2 years)	72	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	188	6
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	57	2
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Veterinary/Animal Health Technician Worth It?

The median salary for a veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant grad is $35,560 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Veterinary/Animal Health Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to veterinary/animal health technology/technician and veterinary assistant.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical/Clinical Assistant	60,320
Pharmacy Technician/Assistant	8,341
Physical Therapy Technician/Assistant	7,650
Occupational Therapist Assistant	4,954
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,515
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	3,499
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	803
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	392
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	175
Radiologist Assistant	126
Anesthesiologist Assistant	82
Lactation Consultant	20
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	12
Chiropractic Assistant/Technician	4

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.