Vet Tech Salary

Bureau of Labor Statistics title: Veterinary Technologists and Technicians

The median vet tech salary in the United States is $47,380 per year ($22.78/hour). Salaries range from $35,710 at the entry level to $63,180+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 129,140 vet tech jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 9.1% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Also known asVet TechVeterinary TechnologistVeterinary Technician
Median Salary
$47,380
per year
Hourly Rate
$22.78
per hour
Employment
129,140
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$35,710
25th percentile
$38,910
Median
$47,380
75th percentile
$57,650
90th percentile
$63,180

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+9.1%
Faster than average

Annual Openings

14,300
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Associate's degree

Vet Tech Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for vet techs.

Licensed vet techs (LVT / CVT / RVT) work under veterinary supervision to run anesthesia, draw blood, place catheters, take radiographs, assist surgery, dental prophylaxis, dose medications, and educate clients. Entry $32-42k; certified $42-58k; senior + Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) in emergency, surgery, or oncology $55-82k; practice manager $75-115k. VTS credential is the elite premium in the field. Sector is growing fast on pet-care demand and specialty referral practices.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Animal handling and restraint
Fear Free technique for dogs, cats, exotics, and large-breed dogs. Safe restraint for jugular blood draws, cystocentesis, and radiograph positioning without over-restraining fractious patients.
Anesthesia induction and monitoring
Pre-anesthetic assessment, induction with appropriate protocol (propofol, alfaxalone, dexmedetomidine, ketamine-benzo), maintenance on inhalant, and monitoring ECG, SpO2, ETCO2, blood pressure, and depth. Anesthesia is the highest-risk task a tech runs.
Laboratory and diagnostic testing
In-house CBC, chemistry, urinalysis, cytology sample prep, and fecal float. Sample handling for reference lab send-outs. IDEXX and Antech workflows.
Surgical assist and dental prophylaxis
Scrub tech for spay/neuter, mass removals, and orthopedic cases. Dental scaling and polishing under DVM supervision; dental radiographs with digital sensor placement.
Client communication and education
Discharge instructions on post-op care, medication administration demonstrations, home care coaching for chronic conditions (diabetes management, chemotherapy). Techs are the education layer between DVM and client.
Pharmacy and controlled substances
Fill prescriptions from DVM orders, compound where allowed, and log DEA schedule II-V controlled drugs. Every fentanyl vial and every gabapentin tablet accounted for.
Records and practice management
Chart entries with vitals, procedures, and observations. Cornerstone, ezyVet, Provet Cloud, and AVImark EHRs. Clean records defend the practice legally.

How to Become a Vet Tech

  1. 1
    Complete an AVMA-accredited AAS in Veterinary Technology
    2-3 year program at a CVTEA-accredited school ($8-30k). ~230 accredited programs in the US. Includes 500+ clinical rotation hours.
  2. 2
    Pass the Veterinary Technician National Examination (VTNE)
    $310 exam administered by AAVSB. Multiple-choice, 170 questions, 3-hour test. Pass rate ~72% for first-time takers from accredited programs.
  3. 3
    Obtain state credential (LVT / CVT / RVT depending on state)
    Fee $100-500; some states require jurisprudence exam. 47 states regulate the profession; 3 states (CA, MI, MN) have specific title regulations.
  4. 4
    Start in general practice or emergency
    $32-42k entry, higher at emergency and specialty. Rotate through medicine, surgery, dental, and wellness in the first 12-18 months to build breadth.
  5. 5
    Advance to VTS specialty or practice management
    5-15 years, $55-115k. VTS (Veterinary Technician Specialist) in one of 16 recognized specialties (ECC, Surgery, Anesthesia, Oncology, Dental) is 3-year application process with case logs and exam.

Career Progression

Entry Vet Tech (New Grad)
0-2 yrs$32-42k
  • β€’Rotate through medicine, surgery, dental, and wellness services
  • β€’Run anesthesia under supervision
  • β€’Complete VTNE and state licensure within first 12 months
  • β€’Blood draws, catheter placement, radiograph positioning
Next: Certified Vet Tech at 1-2 years.
Certified Tech (CVT/RVT/LVT)
2-8 yrs$42-62k
  • β€’Independent anesthesia across ASA I-III patients
  • β€’Scrub tech for routine surgery and dental prophylaxis
  • β€’Client education and discharge on chronic disease management
  • β€’Mentor new grads and precept AAS students
Next: Senior Tech or VTS pursuit at 6-10 years.
Senior / VTS Specialist
6-15 yrs$55-88k + differentials
  • β€’Lead complex cases in specialty (ECC, surgery, oncology, cardiology, dental)
  • β€’Team lead of 2-4 techs; skills-check new hires on anesthesia and monitoring
  • β€’Preceptor for AAS clinical rotations
  • β€’Represent tech team on clinical protocol updates
Next: Practice Manager or Head Tech at 10-18 years.
Practice Manager / Head Tech
12+ yrs$75-125k + bonus
  • β€’Manage 6-15 tech and assistant staff plus 3-8 DVMs
  • β€’Operations, staffing, scheduling, and payroll
  • β€’P&L input, capital equipment planning, vendor management
  • β€’Client escalation and regulatory compliance (DEA, USDA, OSHA)
Next: Multi-practice management, hospital administrator, or veterinary industry (Idexx, Zoetis) roles.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a surgical setup for a routine ovariohysterectomy.technical
Confirm patient identity, ASA classification, and pre-anesthetic bloodwork. Pull the anesthesia protocol from the DVM's order. Set up the surgical suite: sterile pack unwrapped, gowns and gloves out, monitors on, warm-water blanket set. Place IV catheter, induce, intubate, and start maintenance on iso or sevo at 1.5-2.5%. Position dorsal recumbent, clip and prep the surgical field per aseptic protocol. Attach ECG, SpO2, ETCO2, esophageal temp, and NIBP. Sign off the surgical safety checklist with the DVM. During the procedure I monitor vitals every 5 minutes, adjust anesthesia to keep MAP >65, and communicate any changes immediately.
Q2. How do you handle an aggressive dog on intake?situational
Read the body language first β€” hackles, stiff tail, whale eye, guarding behind the owner. Never corner. I use a slip lead, take a wide arc into the exam room, and let the owner do the initial handling. High-value treats out immediately. If handling is unsafe, I'll walk the owner through pre-visit sedation options (trazodone + gabapentin at home) and reschedule. Never force through a bad handling β€” that's how techs get bitten and dogs get worse for every subsequent visit. Muzzle training is discussed for repeat visits.
Q3. Describe your anesthesia monitoring routine.technical
Continuous ECG, pulse ox, and ETCO2. Blood pressure (NIBP or arterial line for high-risk) every 3-5 minutes. Esophageal temperature. Every 5 minutes I log vitals in the anesthesia record. I set alarm limits on the monitor β€” MAP <65, SpO2 <92, ETCO2 >55, heart rate outside age-appropriate range. I stay with the patient from induction through extubation and don't hand off the anesthesia unless there's a documented sign-out. Post-op, I monitor until the patient is sternal, extubated, and thermoregulating.
Q4. Tell me about a difficult client interaction.behavioral
STAR. Situation: an owner whose diabetic cat was still symptomatic three weeks into insulin therapy, blaming the practice. Task: rebuild trust while getting the cat back on track. Action: I sat down with him for a full 30 minutes, walked through the glucose curve results with him, showed him how his home injections were being drawn (he was drawing air with the insulin), demonstrated the correct technique twice, and set up a 2-week recheck. Result: cat glucose curves stabilized within 4 weeks, client became one of our most loyal referrers. Compliance failures are usually education failures.
Q5. Where do you see your career in 5 years?closer
VTS in emergency and critical care with 3-4 years of specialty ER experience, working at a 24-hour specialty referral hospital. Long term I want to move toward practice manager or academic teaching at a CVTEA-accredited program. VTS is the credential that unlocks all of those paths.

Resume Template β€” Entry Vet Tech (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Entry Vet Tech (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈAssisted 45-55 patient visits per shift at 5-doctor small animal practice.
  • β–ΈPassed VTNE on first attempt within 8 months of graduation; state RVT active.
  • β–ΈZero preventable safety incidents; ran anesthesia on 240+ cases including ASA III patients.
  • β–ΈCross-trained on emergency triage, dental radiography, and cytology sample prep.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Weak animal handling β€” reveals itself in the first fractious cat encounter.
  • βœ—Cannot handle emotional cases β€” euthanasia, ICU deaths, and cruelty cases are unavoidable.
  • βœ—Poor charting discipline β€” sloppy records create legal exposure and DEA compliance risk.
  • βœ—Weak anesthesia knowledge β€” the highest-risk task a tech runs; hiring managers screen for this heavily.
  • βœ—No plan to pursue VTS or Practice Manager credential β€” after 5 years, stagnation is the biggest career risk.
  • βœ—Reluctance to update protocols to Fear Free / low-stress standards β€” old-school restraint is bad medicine.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“VTS (Veterinary Technician Specialist) in ECC, Surgery, Anesthesia, or Oncology is a $10-25k base bump plus specialty differential.
  • βœ“Emergency and specialty referral practices pay 15-25% premium over general practice; overnight ER shifts add another 10-15%.
  • βœ“Sign-on bonuses of $2-8k common due to industry-wide tech shortage.
  • βœ“Practice manager and hospital administrator promotions produce $15-25k base bumps.
  • βœ“Metro premium (SF, NYC, LA, DC, Seattle) 15-25% plus higher shift differentials.
  • βœ“PSLF at university teaching hospitals and public sector (municipal, state, federal) settings β€” 10-year loan forgiveness on income-driven repayment.

Vet Tech Resume Review β€” $29

Personalized resume review from someone who has hired vet techs. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.

  • βœ“ Occupation-specific critique (not generic)
  • βœ“ Rewrite suggestions for weak bullets
  • βœ“ Missing skills / keywords flagged
  • βœ“ Formatting + ATS-readability feedback
  • βœ“ 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it

Vet Tech Career Kit β€” $19

  • βœ“ All 13 interview questions with expert answers
  • βœ“ 6 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
  • βœ“ Interview format intel for 6 top employers
  • βœ“ 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
  • βœ“ Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
  • βœ“ Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
  • βœ“ Downloadable PDF for offline access
  • βœ“ Instant access, no expiration, no subscription
βœ“ 7-day money-back guarantee β€” no questions asked

One-time purchase. 7-day refund guarantee.

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Vet Tech Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$36K
$61Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

District of Columbia
$61K
+29%
California
$61K
+28%
Washington
$60K
+26%
New York
$59K
+25%
Minnesota
$57K
+21%
Oregon
$56K
+18%
Virginia
$52K
+10%
Connecticut
$51K
+8%
Maine
$51K
+7%
Nevada
$50K
+6%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
District of Columbia$61,270+29.3%
California$60,630+28.0%
Washington$59,740+26.1%
New York$59,010+24.5%
Minnesota$57,270+20.9%
Oregon$55,810+17.8%
Virginia$52,090+9.9%
Connecticut$50,950+7.5%
Maine$50,810+7.2%
Nevada$50,250+6.1%
1–10 of 51

Vet Tech Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$71,090+50.0%
Corvallis, OR$67,960+43.4%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$67,280+42.0%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$62,810+32.6%
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$61,940+30.7%
Salinas, CA$61,330+29.4%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$61,260+29.3%
Vallejo, CA$61,230+29.2%
Kennewick-Richland, WA$61,070+28.9%
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$60,970+28.7%
1–10 of 313
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A vet tech earning $47,380/year would need 1258 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1351 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how vet tech salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Vet Tech salary trend (2011–2024) β†’