A vet tech is essentially a pet nurse, but vet techs do much more than nursing! It sounds simple enough, but there are many challenging responsibilities that come along with being a veterinary technician. Besides just “caring for animals”, vet techs have many responsibilities.

These often include drawing blood and collecting urine or fecal specimens, cleaning cages, running the blood machine, performing fecal testing to look for parasites, taking radiographs (x-rays), setting up appointments, giving injections, placing IV catheters, assisting the doctor in the exam room, restraining animals, providing customer service and client education, presenting financial estimates, performing dental cleanings, running anesthesia for surgeries, and many others. So the question is, should you become a veterinary technician?

Some questions to ask yourself are:

• Do I like animals?
• Do I enjoy working with people?
• Can I multi-task well?
• Do I like having a lot of different responsibilities?
• Am I a “hands-on” type of person?
• Do the above tasks sound like things I would enjoy doing?

If you answered yes to the above questions, how do you know if this job is the right fit for you? There are some things you can do to help you decide.

1) Do some volunteer work. Many places will accept volunteers or allow you to shadow them in a hospital setting. This way you can see what goes on behind the scenes at a vet hospital and watch what the technicians are doing.

2) Ask the technicians that you meet what they like and don’t like about their position.

3) Contact an accredited veterinary technician school near you and ask questions about their program. Request information about their curriculum so you know what classes you would need to take for certification and find out how long you would need to attend school and how much it would cost.

4) Research online. There are many blogs and websites for veterinary technicians. It may be helpful to see what others are saying about their jobs as vet techs.

5) Check around the area where you live to find out what type of pay you could receive as a certified veterinary technician. Pay is often based on experience and location.

There is always a demand for good veterinary technicians, and it can be a rewarding career choice.