Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code RIC
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
Perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals. Prepare vaccines and serums for prevention of diseases. Prepare tissue samples, take blood samples, and execute laboratory tests, such as urinalysis and blood counts. Clean and sterilize instruments and materials and maintain equipment and machines. May assist a veterinarian during surgery.
Also called: Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT), Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT), Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT), Veterinary Technician (Vet Tech), Emergency Veterinary Technician (Emergency Vet Tech), Internal Medicine Veterinary Technician (Internal Medicine Vet Tech), Veterinarian Technician (Vet Tech), Veterinary Laboratory Technician (Vet Lab Tech).
O*NET 29-2056.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $47,380
- Middle half earn $38,910 to $57,650. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 41% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +9% · Much faster than average
- 134,200 jobs in 2024, projected 146,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Veterinary technologists and technicians".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
- Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
- Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
- Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
- Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
- Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
- Clean and sterilize instruments, equipment, or materials.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
- Speaking3.6 / 5
- Writing3.3 / 5
- Monitoring3.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry4.1 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
- Biology4.0 / 5
- English Language4.0 / 5
- Mathematics3.5 / 5
- Chemistry3.3 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic95
- Investigative71
- Artistic0
- Social34
- Enterprising0
- Conventional59
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- animal chiropractor · DE Tierchiropraktiker/Tierchiropraktikerin · FR chiropracteur animalier
- animal osteopath · DE Tierosteopath/Tierosteopathin · FR osthéopathe animalier/osthéopathe animalière
- animal physiotherapist · DE Tierphysiotherapeut/Tierphysiotherapeutin · FR physiothérapeute animalier/physiothérapeute animalière
- general veterinarian · DE Allgemeintierarzt/Allgemeintierärztin · FR vétérinaire
- specialised veterinarian · DE Fachtierarzt/Fachtierärztin · FR vétérinaire spécialisé
- veterinary technician · DE tiermedizinischer Fachangestellter/tiermedizinische Fachangestellte · FR technicien vétérinaire/technicienne vétérinaire
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Veterinary nurses (3240)26,600 employed
- Veterinarians (2240)34,600 employed
- Health associate professionals n.e.c. (3219)36,300 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.36. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-2056).
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