Animal health techs should be prepared to continue learning and improving. This is much more robust than the average growth projected across all occupations during that decade at 6.5 percent. Their responsibilities may include helping with surgeries, routine checkups, facilities sterilization, patient record-keeping, or emergency procedures, depending on the needs of the refuge, zoo, or wildlife park. Many of these skills are easily transferable to several other careers in different fields. Job opportunities are relatively plentiful in this subfield; a search on Indeed (June 2017) for “animal behavior techs” yielded 510 results, not to mention additional opportunities for “vet behavior techs” and other synonymous job titles. collect and prepare laboratory specimens for testing, produce and develop radiographs using safe practices, clean, maintain, and sterilize surgical and medical tools, ensure facility cleanliness to control the spread of disease, help with food-animal monitoring programs that promote food safety and public health, prepare animals for examination or surgery, help veterinarians with procedures and surgery, give prescribed medications and treatments, restrain animals for examination and treatment, provide animal health care education and support to owners (for example, regarding behaviour problems in pets, animal nutrition, grief counselling), recommend and sell non-prescription products according to clinic standards, manage pharmaceutical and product inventory, private veterinary practices and animal hospitals, research laboratories, e.g., biomedical, agri-biotech, pharmaceutical, kennels, animal shelters and humane societies, zoos, wildlife parks and rehabilitation centres, government departments and food inspection agencies, pet store companies that sell animal care or pharmaceutical supplies. What opportunities for advancement are available to Animal Health Technologists. Career Choices For Veterinary Technicians: Opportunities for Animal Lovers. You are probably already aware of the benefit to your student loan debt that active duty service may offer. .veterinary medicine is not for everyone. At this point, aspiring surgical techs are advised to seek out exposure to a surgical environment in their place of work. The path to becoming this type of vet tech is fairly straightforward; like with other specialties, the individual must first possess credentials as a licensed veterinary technician. This organization provides the provincial associations with a place to discuss issues and plays an important role in international issues. These veterinary technicians are tasked with assisting a staff veterinarian in a zoo environment with a variety of animal species. Gaining specialized skills in one area not only helps someone prepare for the “coolest” careers in animal healthcare, but it can also enhance their employment candidacy or salary prospects. For example, a search on Indeed (June 2017) targeting job opportunities for animal nutrition technicians yielded 286 results nationwide. Working with animals is only one of an assortment of ways to use the skills you’ve learned and the experience you’ve gained. The numbers provided below represent a national average for low, median (mid-point), and high wages (before taxes). These, however, are not the only roads leading to a career working with animals. Medical and clinical laboratory technicians need an associate’s degree or post-secondary certificate, and some may be required to obtain a license. For many veterinary technicians who enjoy working with animals of all varieties, a career as a veterinary zoological medicine technician proves to be one of the most rewarding options available. For a typical career path for animal health techs in the biotechnology industry, see BioTalent Canada’s BioCareer Pathway for Animal Care Attendant. They have a strong interest in medicine, they’re good at math and keeping organized records, and they enjoy working in a laboratory, even when they have to work quickly and make tough decisions. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada. After pursuing the requisite regional license, certification, or registration, some vet techs may seek some variety in their roles, embracing a specialized training or working with a specific animal population. Veterinary technicians have a number of career options that are closely related to the job duties they currently enjoy. Some provinces require registration with a provincial animal health techs’ or veterinary techs’ association. What are the desired traits of Animal Health Technologists in Canada? When animals are at their most vulnerable and in need of more serious treatments or invasive procedures with considerable recovery times, vet surgical techs are there to help. Copyright 2020 Diagnostic Imaging Systems | All Rights Reserved, Horses & Pigs & Cows…Oh My! Please note that similar to other specialties, salary is typically commensurate with experience and varies widely by education level, region, credentialing, and other factors. Animal care and service workers perform many of the same activities that veterinary technicians do, including feeding, bathing and exercising animals. Its training and certification programs are voluntary and are recommended by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). To be eligible, the candidate must have: In general, salary expectations for a zoological technician vary widely depending on the location and size of the zoo, as well as other factors. The vet tech may then apply for credentialing through the Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians (AVST) for recognition as a surgical tech—i.e., a VTS (Surgery). These professionals use high-tech laboratory equipment, are responsible for record-keeping and communicating with doctors on a regular basis. Nursing assistants, like veterinary technicians, provide basic care for their patients – the human kind. For example, the Marine Mammal Center reports than a Pacific harbor seal can weigh up to 300 lbs. It supports professional, ethical, compassionate animal research, when it is necessary. ALTERNATIVE CAREER OPTIONS TO VETERINARY PRACTICE INTRODUCTION If you decide against continuing with veterinary studies, are disappointed in your ambition to get onto the Graduate BvetMed course, or after completing the BvetMed course want to consider other career options here are some possibilities to research. Animals may sometimes bite or scratch when animal health techs lift, hold, or restrain them. As the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians states: out of the three influences that affect the life of an animal (genetics, environment, and nutrition), nutrition is the one factor that animal healthcare professionals—including veterinary nutritionists and veterinary nutrition technicians—can impact.