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To be a vet tech? Help.
I am not a vet tech, but I think I want to be one. I am currently a therapist at a residential treatment center for adolescents. I am tired, burned out, and kind of hate my job. Every day, whenever I envision a new job, I picture being with animals. Every time I go to the vet's office, which is fairly often with 4 pets of my own, I think how much different it would be to drive there every day. Now, please don't get me wrong, I KNOW that there are tough days as a vet tech, and things can be very difficult there too. For example, my husband always think I would fold at the thought of assisting with euthanasia, but I know that I could do that. So, I would appreciate honest opinions from other vet techs or even vets on such a career switch. I know that I would have to go back to school for about two years to get another degree. I currently have a bachelor's degree in Art History/Anthropology and a Master's in Social Work. So, I didn't take a lot of math or science, but I know that I can do it, and I've always gotten good grades. I suspect I would be taking somewhat of a paycut, but in the end I think I would be so much happier. I love animals, and I just CANNOT picture myself staying in my current job for another 30 years. Thoughts? Advice? Am I crazy to go back to school in this economy when I have a stable government job?
Re: To be a vet tech? Help.
We get a lot of high school students that come into our office looking to 'volunteer' who think that the job is all puppies, kittens and rainbows... the job is anything but! I spend most of my days cleaning up urine (off the floor, off the table, off the scale, off my shoes), dealing with fecal matter in some form (in a plastic bag, in a tubberware container, anal glands, oh and cleaning it off my shoes) and trying not to get bit (thankfully, it's only happened once but it was pretty nasty!). Now, I may seem pretty harsh here and like I don't like my job but I honestly love it, it's just not as glamorous as many people think it is. Seventy percent of my job is cleaning up some sort of mess or another but I'm OK with that because I know that all those jobs need to be done in order for the office to function smoothly.
Where do you live? I live in Northern Michigan and I can tell you the job market (especially for vet techs) is slim, slim, slim pickings! It's hard to find a job in the vet tech field because once techs are hired, they typically don't quit which makes for very few openings. I've worked at the same office now for 3 years and I wouldn't even dream of leaving! The pay is also not great for the amount of work that you do day in and day out. Don't be surprised if you start out making less than $15 an hour. I know some girls that have worked in the field for 10+ years and still don't even make $15 an hour! This also isn't a typical 9-5 job. Emergencies happen and you need to be available which means giving up your nights and weekends sometimes. It also means not leaving work at exactly 5:00 when the office closes. I can't remember the last time I left work when the office closed.
As far as euthanasia, everyone deals with this in their own way. The first one I every experienced was during my externship and I teared up during it and I'm not ashamed to admit that. You will eventually get used to the process, not that it makes it any easier, but you learn to handle them in your own way. Most of the time, it's being there for the client to comfort them through such a hard time. Having good communication skills is also important to the job. There are days when you just want to strangle a person because they keep asking the same questions over and over again but you have to understand that it's only because they care that they keep asking. People skills are important too as well as knowing how to deal with rude clients and being able to handle getting yelled at from time to time.
As far as schooling goes, it all varies state-to-state. Some places it is a two year degree and others a four year degree so it all depends on what you feel is right for you. After high school I went to college where I got a BS in zoology, two weeks after graduating college, I went back to school to become a vet tech. In all my four years at a major university I never studied as much as I did in the two years that I was in school to become a vet tech! The schooling is demanding and it requires a lot of time and dedication, I don't think it is something that one can just breeze through because they are used to getting decent grades. I always got good grades in HS and college but there were times that I struggled. Taking classes like radiation and pharmacology were hard and they are designed that way to ensure that those that make it through the class really have what it takes. It's not just finishing the schooling either, just because you graduate with a degree doesn't make you a tech. You also have to pass a state and national exam in order to be a licensed veterinary technician. Where I live you also have to complete 240 hours at an unpaid externship in order to graduate so adding that on top of your school workload, having a home, having a husband and trying to have some sort of life so you don't go insane really adds up quickly and some people can't handle the stress of it all.
I don't want to discourage you from pursuing your goals but I think it would be best if you found a veterinary hospital that you can volunteer some time at to see what the day in the life of a tech is like. Get an actual experience of what surgeries are like, office calls, euthanasia, dealing with unhappy clients and patients to see if this is something you really want to do day in and day out. If you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them for you. I hope I didn't come off as super b*tchy because it's a tough job and not everyone realizes just how much work goes into running a veterinary hospital.