Skilled practitioners such as dentists, doctors and veterinarians spend many long years in training, and their billable time is the practice's most valuable asset. To free up their time for high-return activities, most employ assistants who tend to the routine chores of managing their daily routine. For example, veterinarians often employ one or more veterinary assistants to keep the practice running smoothly. The position requires organizational skills and an affection for animals, but no formal education.
Working as a veterinarian's assistant requires no formal education, but basic literacy, numeracy and computer skills are necessary. Most veterinarians hire applicants with a high school diploma or GED. You should also have some prior experience working with animals, such as growing up on a farm or working summers at a kennel or dog grooming business. As an assistant, you'll divide your duties between animal care and office duties, depending on the needs of the individual practice.
In most practices, veterinary assistants answer phone calls and schedule appointments with the veterinarian. They're also responsible for maintaining accurate patient and customer files and for billing and receiving payment. In inpatient facilities, assistants might also share responsibility for feeding, watering and exercising the patients, as needed. They'll clean and disinfect cages and kennels, clean and maintain any operating rooms, administer medications and collect blood or urine samples for testing purposes. Veterinary assistants also monitor the patients' condition during treatment or recovery, alerting the veterinarian to potential signs of adverse reactions or setbacks.
Veterinary assistants who enjoy their work and want to exercise a higher level of responsibility can take courses to become veterinary technicians or technologists. Veterinary technicians usually graduate from a two-year associate degree program in veterinary science, while technologists earn a four-year bachelor's degree. Their duties overlap with a veterinary assistant's to some degree, but technicians and technologists have a larger set of skills. They can provide nursing care and first aid to animals, administer anesthesia, perform laboratory tests, create X-ray images for diagnosis and assist the veterinarian during surgeries.
Working as a veterinary assistant can be deeply satisfying for anyone who loves animals, but it doesn't pay especially well. In its May 2012 figures, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an average salary of $24,740 a year for veterinary assistants. Employment growth for veterinary assistants will be average, the BLS predicts, at 14 percent through 2020. Veterinary technicians and technologists will fare better, at a projected 52-percent job growth and an average of $31,470 a year.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment Statistics -- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment Statistics -- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
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