- Full AVMA-CVTEA accreditation, allowing graduates to qualify for the VTNE examination.
- Study online, at your own pace, wherever you are.
- Receive ongoing support from our Veterinary Academy Team.
This technology finalizes two different programs that include a two-year veterinary program as well as a one for four years.
As claimed by a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), this tech aids veterinarians just as the nurses help doctors.
There are also added opportunities for employment in advanced research even though the two kinds of vet tech do a similar work.
Table of Contents
General Salary Outlook
The BLS provides data that indicating that the median salary of a vet tech annually was $28,900 in May 2008.
The middle half of the vet techs received an annual salary ranging from $23,580 to $34,960 nationally.
There is the ten percent who earned the lowest making $19,770 and the highest ten percent got at least $41,490.
The 2010 PayScale salary survey of October that was done on a population of 4,291 vets indicated that the median salary for vet techs annually is between $22,821 and $33, 664.
Supplementary Pay
Vet techs can choose to work for overtime and this will increase their profit sharing as well as receiving bonuses and this depends on the employer.
The PayScale survey of October in the year 2010 claimed that the overtime payments ranged from $15.81 to $23.85 in one hour.
Overtime working affects their payment since many clinics give their employees some traditional benefits from work.
Additionally, they also have bonuses that account to almost $101.94 to $500 per year.
You should know that their proceeds from the sharing of profits range from $204.82 to $1,160.
Salary by Employer
There is a different annual salary variance in employer’s types where each of the techs works.
As claimed by the survey of October in 2010 of 3,696 vet techs, local, universities and state government agencies offer the highest salaries.
There are those vets who work in colleges and some in universities receive around $14.32 and $19.03 in an hour.
The state and local agencies of the government give a median rate of $12.03 and 15.54 per hour.
Also, the vet tech working on contracts receive the highest rate per hour which is estimated to be between $15.50 and $23.49 in one hour.
Salary by State
There are differences in salaries among the states across the country.
We’ve compiled a table below to show you averages per state.
Here it is:
Salary Information by State
| State | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2,030 | $33,750 | $16.22 | $43,710 | $27,040 |
| Alaska | 290 | $45,510 | $21.88 | $57,410 | $34,440 |
| Arizona | 3,160 | $41,410 | $19.91 | $48,820 | $34,540 |
| Arkansas | 220 | $34,450 | $16.56 | $41,970 | $27,540 |
| California | 9,320 | $55,740 | $26.80 | $73,330 | $39,280 |
| Colorado | 4,400 | $46,240 | $22.23 | $59,160 | $35,880 |
| Connecticut | 1,880 | $48,980 | $23.55 | $61,560 | $37,240 |
| Delaware | 680 | $42,630 | $20.50 | $60,800 | $29,880 |
| District of Columbia | 140 | $56,420 | $27.13 | $76,030 | $39,240 |
| Florida | 10,310 | $41,640 | $20.02 | $54,300 | $30,270 |
| Georgia | 2,840 | $40,390 | $19.42 | $49,310 | $29,110 |
| Hawaii | 320 | $44,150 | $21.23 | $66,640 | $28,420 |
| Idaho | 740 | $38,400 | $18.46 | $45,930 | $30,610 |
| Illinois | 4,450 | $44,670 | $21.47 | $60,470 | $31,770 |
| Indiana | 2,430 | $41,280 | $19.85 | $48,720 | $31,350 |
| Iowa | 1,050 | $41,530 | $19.97 | $58,640 | $31,390 |
| Kansas | 1,070 | $38,940 | $18.72 | $49,200 | $27,450 |
| Kentucky | 1,920 | $35,370 | $17.01 | $45,760 | $26,960 |
| Louisiana | 1,530 | $31,810 | $15.30 | $41,690 | $23,430 |
| Maine | 860 | $47,560 | $22.86 | $58,800 | $37,480 |
| Maryland | 2,690 | $45,160 | $21.71 | $59,670 | $33,930 |
| Massachusetts | 3,190 | $48,270 | $23.21 | $59,120 | $36,830 |
| Michigan | 3,100 | $46,310 | $22.26 | $57,310 | $36,210 |
| Minnesota | 4,070 | $46,080 | $22.15 | $57,320 | $36,820 |
| Mississippi | 1,010 | $33,990 | $16.34 | $44,090 | $22,350 |
| Missouri | 2,000 | $38,600 | $18.56 | $49,520 | $28,480 |
| Montana | 650 | $39,590 | $19.03 | $48,930 | $30,630 |
| Nebraska | 750 | $40,040 | $19.25 | $48,830 | $29,830 |
| Nevada | 540 | $46,830 | $22.51 | $57,720 | $38,290 |
| New Hampshire | 1,020 | $46,860 | $22.53 | $60,550 | $36,820 |
| New Jersey | 3,660 | $47,100 | $22.64 | $59,950 | $36,390 |
| New Mexico | 800 | $39,070 | $18.78 | $50,690 | $28,630 |
| New York | 5,220 | $55,540 | $26.70 | $76,660 | $39,680 |
| North Carolina | 3,570 | $44,580 | $21.43 | $59,270 | $31,710 |
| North Dakota | 310 | $40,540 | $19.49 | $47,140 | $28,700 |
| Ohio | 4,320 | $40,660 | $19.55 | $49,430 | $30,900 |
| Oklahoma | 960 | $36,540 | $17.57 | $47,230 | $28,600 |
| Oregon | 1,810 | $44,810 | $21.54 | $57,900 | $31,500 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,190 | $44,250 | $21.27 | $59,570 | $31,150 |
| Rhode Island | 450 | $42,510 | $20.44 | $60,700 | $30,090 |
| South Carolina | 1,940 | $41,460 | $19.93 | $56,590 | $30,770 |
| South Dakota | 360 | $41,200 | $19.81 | $45,830 | $36,040 |
| Tennessee | 1,720 | $38,250 | $18.39 | $49,850 | $28,820 |
| Texas | 12,980 | $37,560 | $18.06 | $48,980 | $27,540 |
| Utah | 1,370 | $39,370 | $18.93 | $47,030 | $30,310 |
| Vermont | 430 | $43,080 | $20.71 | $47,780 | $37,370 |
| Virginia | 2,400 | $50,980 | $24.51 | $64,440 | $35,910 |
| Washington | 2,570 | $54,460 | $26.18 | $64,430 | $43,410 |
| West Virginia | 450 | $33,910 | $16.30 | $45,590 | $24,580 |
| Wisconsin | 2,530 | $43,770 | $21.04 | $56,550 | $34,660 |
| Wyoming | 300 | $35,600 | $17.11 | $46,590 | $21,290 |
| Puerto Rico | 450 | $28,710 | $13.80 | $47,450 | $22,430 |
Annual Average Salary: Top 10 States
The top earning state in the field is District of Columbia, where the average salary is $56,420.
These are the top 10 earning states in the field:
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Salary by City
The location of the vet tech is also one of the critical things that influence their salaries annually.
The report from the PayScale data indicated that the vet techs located in Seattle, California, Los Angeles, and Washington had higher wages per hour when compared to other big cities.
The hourly median wage for vet techs in Seattle ranged between $13.82 and $18.05.
For those who lived in Los Angeles got around $12.09 to $19.86 per hour.
In places like Texas; Oregon, Portland; and Chicago Illinois had similar median wages per hour which ranged from $11.49 and $17.32.
The data also shows that in Austin, Texas there are the lowest wages per hour for vet techs as it ranged from $10.36 to $15.51.
Salary by Experience
In addition to location, the experience is another critical factor in the job.
As indicated by PayScale in the October 2010 survey, we realized that the vet techs who had the least experience in the job received the lowest wages when compared to other experienced professionals.
There are those who have experience of less than one year had a low salary of $8.80 and $11.94 per hour.
The vet techs with experience of about four to five years will expect to earn about $9.85 to $13.24 in one hour.
The next experience category of five to nine years will have an increased salary of about $11.99 to $15.92.
Finally, the senior techs who have nine years of experience are likely to get a median of starting salary of $13.39 and up to $18.65 in one hour.
Specialty
If one is interested in earning more money as a vet tech, he should consider going for specialty certification.
The certification needs one to complete a formal education program, on-the-job experience, training, and testing.
The training in specialty adds on credibility to the practice of the vet techs hence one can easily be employed.
The specialties required include:
- internal medicine
- emergency
- surgical techniques
- anesthesiology
- internal medicine
- critical care
Salary Information about Vet Technicians and Technologists in 2016
This category of vets received a median salary of $32,490 per year in 2016.
There are those vets on the lower end who received a salary of 25th of $26,870.
This means that the other 75% earned a higher amount than this which was at $38,950.
102,000 people in 2016 got employment in the US as veterinary technicians and technologists.
Education Required by Vet Technologists and Techs
They all have to go for degrees of two or four years in the veterinary technology.
They all share similar responsibilities but the technologists have a four-year degree in the vet technology while the technicians have a two-year associate degree.
They have to pass an exam to be certified, get a license and this depends on the state.
It is important to have a strong background or math and science since the job involves lab tests and drug calculations.
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