When a person considers becoming a veterinary technician and wants an idea what kind of salary can be expected, investigation shows a very wide range for an "average" vet tech salary. Reasons for this are location, level of experience and the type of business where a vet tech is employed.
Identification
In 2005 the average annual salary for full-time veterinary technicians working in clinics and hospitals in the United States was about $26,000. The highest pay was running around $40,000. In 2003 the bottom 10 percent of the scale was earning under $16,400 a year. Hourly pay in 2005 was usually $12 to $15 an hour in most parts of the country.
Benefits
Vet techs usually are provided with vacation and holiday pay, a 401(k) plan and health insurance. Typically they also receive discounts on pet health care and boarding as well as incentives for continuing education.
Geography
Salaries vary a great deal in different regions, with metropolitan areas having much higher pay and rural areas and small towns paying significantly lower. Salaries also are quite different depending on the place of employment. Vet techs working in research labs can start at a very low wage but quickly advance to the top of the scale.
In the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing laboratories the average salary is around $35,000, although techs working in pharmaceutical sales can make more than twice that much. State government also offers an annual average salary for vet techs of about $35,000. These sectors typically need veterinary technicians to conduct medical research and work with laboratory animals.
Potential
Because more people own pets every year and are willing to pay more for preventive care such as dental work, spaying and neutering, demand for vet techs is increasing. This has boosted salaries, a trend that should continue as economic downturns usually do not affect job security for vet techs.
Considerations
Working at a clinic or animal hospital involves stressful situations and odd hours including evenings and weekends. Statistics show a tendency for techs to leave the field after seven or eight years for these reasons combined with the relatively low pay. The higher pay in metropolitan areas must be balanced against the higher cost of living; a $40,000-a-year salary in a major city would have to be weighed against rents of more than $1,000 a month.
Those vet techs who stay in their positions typically state how rewarding and interesting the work is, with money not the most important issue for them.
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