Registered Veterinary Technician
If you love your pets, and want a reliable job that’s in demand, a registered veterinary technician might be what your looking for. The job has a prerequisite of only two years of college to get your associates degree and it does not require multiple years of education and large amount of money that is demanded of veterinarians.
Becoming a registered veterinary technician provides you with a professional advantage. It means greater prestige among other vet techs and companies that hire vet techs. Registered veterinary technicians have more career choices and more job advancement opportunities.
Registered Veterinary technician certification requirements are different for various states, but general requirements include a a two-year associate degree and up to three years hands on training. More work related experience is essential for those who want to become a registered veterinary technician but did not complete a two year veterinary college program
The registered veterinary technician can do a lot of the same things as a veterinarian can except diagnose, subscribe prescription medications, and perform surgery. Its the same thing as the duties that a nurse performs who works with a medical doctor. You will more than likely work in a veterinary office or clinic. Your day at work would consist of scheduling appointments, filling out medical records, or updating current patient records. You will work with animals of all kinds and sizes. You may assist in blood draws or collecting specimens and other items needed for lab testing. You also might help in surgery, taking x-rays, or pet grooming, or even giving vaccinations.
There are several jobs available for anyone who is a registered veterinary technician. While most registered veterinary technicians will work in a veterinarian’s office or animal clinic, there are also job offers in other areas. If you are interested in sciences or medical research, there are a lot of research facilities that depend on veterinary technologists to care for animals in their biomedical research facilities. The registered veterinary technician would coordinate all tasks with animals to ensure adequate care is given and keep track of all research projects for the research staff.
Pet food and pet supply companies also employ registered veterinary technicians for their Research and Development divisions. These companies are always looking for ways to improve the quality and appeal of products like cat and dog food, pet treats and pet toys. They need employees who can work with their products by testing them on animals to determine what is most appealing and also healthiest for their target animals.
To obtain a job as a registered veterinary technician you must have a two year Associate’s Degree, which you should obtain from a technical school that is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The school courses will consist of basic courses in math and business as well as more veterinary based classes such as zoology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, animal nursing, surgical principles, comparative anatomy, public health and more. You will need to do volunteer work or intership work to get hands on experience. In most instances you will perform jobs tasks under the management of a registered veterinarian while practicing the skills you’ve learned in school.
