Five Reasons Why Jenna Became a Vet Tech
Jenna had plenty of pets growing up in a Chicago suburb. Like many of her schoolmates, she had the requisite turtles, hamsters, fish, dogs, cats, rabbits and even an iguana and a ferret. She seemed to have a knack, a passionate one at that, for caring for critters.
Cleaning Cages was a Start
As she grew older, Jenna got a great break, the best break she thought, when a friend of her mother’s mentioned her cousin, a veterinarian, was looking for someone to help at his clinic. Since Jenna was already 16, she hopped at the chance.
Decision Time Arrived
It was a great opportunity, but her activity was limited. The dream she had held so close since a young girls had led her to this opportunity. However, without accredited training, Jenna was pretty much relegated to walking dogs and cleaning up poop every day. She watched as Nance, a certified tech, assisted the vet with all medical care activity for the clinic patients while Jenna scooped up poop.
Once she hit her senior year she decided that she did want to continue with a career caring for animals. Jenna decided to become a vet tech because:
1) Short-term education – In most states, a minimum two-year course in veterinary technology leads to an associate’s degree
2) Easy Access – Many community colleges offer two-year degree programs that allow full time workers to complete according to personal schedules
3) Better Pay – As a veterinarian clinic worker without an education, the most Jenna could hope for- salary-wise – was a little bit above minimum wage when her employer gave annual set raises based on tenure. A vet tech with an associate’s degree would command at least $8,000 more per year.
4) Better Work Duties – A vet tech assists a doctor in a number of daily medical-related activities such as :
- Communicating with pet owners obtaining patient medical histories
- Collecting specimens from patients for testing
- Conducting specimen laboratory testing
- Assisting with diagnostics
- Assisting with surgical and other medical procedure
- Providing specialized medical care
- Producing radiographs for diagnosis
- Assisting with surgical nursing
- Supervising the training of clinic personnel
5) Greater Career Opportunities – Exposure to veterinary medicine as a vet tech may compel many to continue an education for a bachelor’s degree that can lead to improved salary potential as well as more diverse and interesting work duties. A vet tech possessing a bachelor’s degree can make more than $16,000 per year than an unaccredited veterinary clinic employee. Furthermore, a bachelor’s degree to lead to greater specialized training where other career opportunities can be found in research, large facilities like zoos and farms, animal control law enforcement, wildlife preserves and retail facilities like pet stores needing vet tech services.
Also, Jenna hoped not to constantly smell like poop!