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veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians

Instructional content for this group of programs is defined in codes 01.8301 - 01.8399.

Types of Degrees veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians Majors Are Earning

People majoring in veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1,600
Associate’s Degree	4,341
Bachelor’s Degree	514
Master’s Degree	2,563

What veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians Majors Need to Know

Coursework for veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Documenting/Recording Information	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.2 / 7
Performing General Physical Activities	4.1 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
McAllister Software Systems AVImark	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Veterinary practice management software PMS	Medical software	—
Animal Intelligence Software Animal Intelligence	Medical software	—
FileMaker Pro	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates include:

• Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)
• Animal Care Technician (Animal Care Tech)
• Veterinary Technologist
• Internal Medicine Veterinary Technician (Internal Medicine Vet Tech)
• Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT)
• Veterinary Laboratory Technician (Vet Lab Tech)
• Veterinarian Technician (Vet Tech)
• Animal Health Technician (Animal Health Tech)
• Veterinary Surgery Technologist (Vet Surgery Technologist)
• Veterinary Technician (Vet Tech)
• Veterinary Assistant (Vet Assistant)
• Veterinary Nurse (Vet Nurse)
• Veterinary Surgery Technician (Vet Surgery Tech)
• Swine Technician (Swine Tech)
• Veterinary X-Ray Operator

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	44.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	15.3%
Postsecondary certificate	11.6%
Doctoral degree	7.3%
Master’s degree	6.1%
Some college courses	5.1%
Bachelor’s degree	4.8%
Post-doctoral training	3.2%
Less than a high school diploma	1.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.2% of veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	8,077	89.2%
Men	974	10.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	4,526	50.0%
Asian	196	2.2%
Hispanic or Latino	3,167	35.0%
Black or African American	384	4.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	85	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	28	0.3%
Two or More Races	403	4.5%
Race Unknown	244	2.7%
International Students	18	0.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$30,096
4 years	$32,594
5 years	$36,273

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $36,273 — roughly 21% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	12
Bachelor’s	3	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, veterinary/animal health technologies/technicians graduates earn a median of $32,594 four years after completion — about 14% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Agriculture Ag Operations	53,204
Agricultural Business and Management	8,612
Animal Sciences	8,295
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	4,164
Veterinary Medicine	3,756
Agricultural Production Operations	3,608
Plant Sciences	3,261
Food Science and Technology	2,269
Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services	1,424
Agricultural Mechanization	1,378
Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences	1,077
Agricultural Public Services	975

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.