Veterinary Technician Salary is on the rise in the veterinary industry as more practitioners recognize the service and business building benefits of hiring credentialed veterinary nurses.
Veterinary Assistant Versus Credentialed Veterinary Technician
For those exploring a career in veterinary care and nursing, you should understand the difference between a veterinary assistant and a veterinary technician. Veterinary assistants are individuals who are trained to assist veterinarians and veterinary technicians in the handling and care of animals. The training for veterinary assistants is typically completed ‘on the job’, though many online and traditional classroom instruction options for veterinary assistants exist. Veterinary assistant training typically comes with some sort of certification, though this certification is rarely, if ever, recognized by State Veterinary Boards.
Veterinary Technicians, on the other hand, are recognized by most state veterinary boards, which outline qualifications for credentialing. Typical requirements include a degree from an accredited veterinary technology learning institution, a passing score on a standardized exam, and regular continuing education credits. For more on becoming a credentialed veterinary technician, go here.
Veterinary Technician Salary according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
As of 2012, the BOLS reports the median veterinary technician salary as 30K. At HTC, we see much higher figures. In urban areas like the NY metropolitan area, it is common to see credentialed veterinary technician wages topping 23 dollars/hr (48K/year) with a significant number passing the 28 dollars/hour (58K/year). For technicians doubling as practice managers, a rising trend, we see annual wages reaching as high as 75K/year.
Why a rise in Veterinary Technician Salary?
With more competition than ever before, veterinary practice owners are discovering that it’s not enough to be a great veterinarian; one must be a veterinarian in the context of a veterinary healthcare team, one that is typically anchored by a strong, experienced, credentialed, veterinary technician. Unlike practices built around one veterinary-owner-all-star, practices that take a team approach to care provide a more consistent service experience to the client, provide more opportunities for quality contact, and make a stronger case for relevancy over more affordable, but less-personalized veterinary service providers.
Why Paying a Higher Veterinary Technician Salary is Worth It
Hands down, practices that take a team approach to care and that leverage licensed veterinary technicians to assist with service and client education score higher in job satisfaction surveys, grow more consistently and robustly, and score higher on client satisfaction surveys. Additionally, we find that the average invoice, client retention, and client compliance numbers are all higher at practices that leverage the intelligence, experience, education and service abilities of credentialed veterinary technicians.
Want a Higher Veterinary Technician Salary?
Anyone involved in a salary negotiation between a veterinary practice owner
and credentialed technician would do well to see the legitimacy of the opposing side’s argument. From our perspective a happy medium is within easy reach. Rather than starting out the discussion with what pay rate you deserve, find common ground on how much your efforts are worth by looking at what you do for clients and patients and what that translates to in terms of client retention, compliance, satisfaction, and so forth. For more on salary negotiations, go here.
Make a Change
If you are concerned about the amount of money you are (or are not) paying your employees, please reach out to us for help. A pay increase shouldn’t feel like it’s been pried out of a spring loaded wallet, but part of an overall discussion on clearer performance expectations and meaningful goals. On the flip side, credentialed veterinary technicians interested in exploring other career options are encouraged to subscribe to our newsletter on the HTC Career connect site where we frequently post positions for experienced technicians.
About the Author: Bash Halow is a LVT, CVPM and partner with Halow Tassava Consulting. For more on Bash, visit it him on the HTC website, review his more personal thoughts on veterinary medicine and management, or take a look at his personal page.