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Veterinary technicians live very interesting lives; a typical day in the life of a vet tech revolves around performing a host of duties in the vet clinic/hospital. The type of duties undertaken by a vet technician depends on several factors like ones experience and training, patient caseload of the hospital/clinic where one is stationed, and the assignments given by the head vet in the course of the day. Veterinary technicians are usually charged with high level tasks and have bigger responsibilities as opposed to vet assistants who are primarily entry level animal caretakers.

Vet tech remuneration varies widely based on factors such as experience, certification, practice locality and practice type i.e. large or small animals and practice size. 2009 US Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics report puts the mean hourly wage of vet technicians at $13.90 and mean per annun wage at $28,920. (Latest information on their official website). Opinions differ greatly on this topic from a number of practitioners - this range from Vet techs with years of experience in the job to newbies contemplating a career in the field, one of the vet tech I interviewed had the following advice.

Andrew - Vet Tech from Alabama

"Persistence and determination are real deal makers in this profession. I've practiced as a vet tech for 20 years now and made $20/hour and of course with good benefits. I'd advise someone interested or training to be a vet tech to look at institutions that teach vet medicine in all capacities and also industries in the animal business which may not offer much in terms of hourly wage, just remember that when you factor in health insurance and other benefits then it's quite handsome.

You can also use your vet tech qualifications to start a pet sitting service. I personally do this and have a bigger client base than I'm able to handle - this all comes as a result of my being a Licensed Vet technician. My hourly charge for this service is $17.00 per visit to tend to pets. I even have a client that pays $35.00 an hour for my service; this one has a kennel and knows the importance of having a vet who knows each and every of her dogs. So, don't be depressed - widen your thinking and you'll see real opportunities open to you"

There is no doubt that there are limitless opportunities for vet technicians interested in offering pet sitting service in addition to their regular vet clinic jobs. It's also a bonus if one is a trained and licensed animal caregiver because lots of people are looking for trained pet sitters and especially for special needs pets it can turn out to be a very important service that provides peace of mind to people who are away from their beloved pets.

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