One of the obstacles many well-intentioned animal lovers face when trying to pursue a veterinary medical career is lack of an attention span. It takes eight years of schooling to become a licensed veterinarian. Therefore, many youngsters who start dreaming about caring for animals at an early age are not prepared for the sacrifices involved when time arrives to decide a career path.
It Don’t Come Easy
If it was easy, we would all be licensed vets. However, this career pursuit is not for the weak-minded nor people who have strong commitment issues. Not only do most licensed veterinarians need a four-year undergraduate education, followed by four years of vet school, but graduates also need to spend three to four years as interns before a DVM can go out on their own.
Long-Term Commitment
So, after 11 or 12 hard years of constant learning, when you turn 30 you can start your career. That is, unless you aren’t exhausted, burned-out and overwhelmingly burdened with debt. Consider an alternative to pursue your childhood dream caring for animals. Become a Vet Tech.
The most heart-wrenching part of being a vet tech is when you have to tell the owner that there is only one option for their pet—euthanasia. Oftentimes, the veterinarian will take care of this, but sometimes this responsibility falls into the hands of the vet tech.
An emotionally draining part of the job
You will most likely be the one placing that IV in that animal for the last time and you will usually have to do that while the owner is present. Most owners want to be there for everything involved in the euthanasia of their pet. After all, that is the last moments they will have with that pet. This can be a very hard time on you and the owners. Knowing that you will be administering fatal drugs to that animal is going to be one of the hardest things you will ever have to do in your job as a vet tech. You will look into that animal’s eyes and it will tear you down.
Consider that you may be saving the animal from prolonged suffering
Euthanasia may seem like the harshest treatment you could ever perform on an animal. There has to be something else, right? No, sometimes, death is a gift. Sometimes it is the only option left for an animal that has an incurable disease or an animal that has been partially crushed by a car.
It is especially a gift when that animal is suffering in unbelievable pain. Even though you or the owners may not be able to see that pain, it is definitely there. Animals have an awesome way of being loyal to their owners and not showing pain is their way of not upsetting their beloved masters. Just always keep in mind that euthanasia is a last option. An animal will appreciate your efforts in ending their pain and releasing them into peace. So, if you become a vet tech, always keep in mind that death is as much a part of an animal’s life as living and breathing is.
If you think you know a lot about animal care just from owning a pet, you need to realize that isn’t going to be all you need to be a vet tech. A lot of people will apply for a job as vet tech without ever having gone to school for it.
Being a vet tech entails a lot more than just feeding, walking, and changing litter pans. If you are vet tech, you probably won’t be doing a lot of that anyway because the kennel staff will take care of those things. Your job will be to assist the doctor in the actual animal treatments and dealing with owners.
The best part of the job are the challenges you will face everyday from animals. You will be able to learn so much about their behavior and health. The learning doesn’t stop when you walk out the doors of school.
Education & training go beyond the classroom
In your dedication to animal health, you need to remember that you will have to stay updated on the latest and the greatest in animal medicine for as long as you work as a vet tech. You may even be able to attend educational conferences like WVC with the doctors you work with.
Hands-on experience is everything
The possibilities are limitless when it comes to staying on top of animal health and new advances in animal medicine. Your education will go a lot further than just what you learned in school. You will learn the best way to get that terrified cat out of the cage and then be able to draw blood from that same cat without getting bitten. You learn how to hit those tiny veins in puppies and kittens.
There is so much that you will learn as you are working as a vet tech and that is the best part. Wait until you can look up from listening to that dog’s heart beat and tell the doctor about the heart murmur you hear, before the doctor has even listened. The satisfaction you will feel in times like this makes it all worth while.
If you are considering a career as a veterinarian technician, you are in for one of the most rewarding careers there is out there. If you love animals and would like to be able to help in more ways than just petting, hugging, and feeding them, then the choice of being a vet tech is the right one. Animals require a lot of care and veterinarians need a lot of help with this care. The best part of being a vet tech is the gratitude you will see in the animal’s eyes when you tuck them in after surgery or when you see them go home, happy and healthy in their owner’s arms after a close brush with death or other disaster to their health and well being. It is a feeling that can’t be matched.
Learn something new everyday
You will be able to assist the veterinarian, side by side, during surgery. You will never believe some of the things you can learn about an animal’s anatomy as you do when you are in surgery. The challenges of being a vet tech never end and this is one job you will look forward to going to everyday. You will even have trouble going home at the end of the day because you will want to stay with the animals!
Compassion is key
The joys of being a vet tech are many and the choice to be one will be one the best ever for those who would dedicate their life’s work to defenseless and loving animals. You will need to go to school to gain your license as a vet tec
A.A.S. in Veterinary Technology |
Penn Foster College - Distance Learning Program Become a vet tech in as little as 1 year. The Penn Foster Veterinary Technician associate degree program is fully accredited by the AVMA.
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