Comprehensive Vet Assistant Program
A comprehensive vet assistant program provides a straight path to working in animal healthcare. If your heart is set on helping animals, becoming a veterinary assistant is a great choice.
Before making any job move, however, it pays to learn as much as you can. This guide is designed to answer questions you may have about being a vet assistant and what the position entails.
Updated 2025 Statistics & Trends in Veterinary Assisting
Competitive Compensation Across the U.S.
As of January 2025, veterinary assistants in the United States earn an average annual salary of $33,979, with hourly wages averaging $16. Salaries can vary based on location and experience; for instance, in California, the average annual salary is $37,479, while in Florida, it’s approximately $32,280.
Significant Employment Growth Projected
The demand for veterinary assistants is on the rise, with employment projected to grow 19% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. This growth is driven by increased pet ownership and a heightened focus on pet health and wellness.
Advancements in Veterinary Training Facilities
In response to the growing need for skilled veterinary professionals, new state-of-the-art training centers have been established to support veterinary assistant education, veterinary technology, and veterinary medicine.
Clarifying Confusion Between Vet Assistants and Vet Techs
Job titles in a vet practice can get a little confusing. While most people understand that veterinarians are at the top of the professional food chain, they tend to use the titles “vet assistant” and “vet tech” interchangeably. The two are completely different jobs, however.
Veterinary technicians function more like nurses and must go to college and complete at least a two-year associate’s degree and be licensed or certified. Their duties correspond loosely to those of nurses in a human healthcare setting. Veterinary technician education is more intensive and focuses on areas like veterinary anatomy and veterinary dentistry. Vet techs are allowed to do more clinical work than vet assistants.
Veterinary assistants are best thought of as the support staff that makes the jobs of veterinarians and vet techs go more smoothly. On any given day they can be doing clerical work, welcoming patients, helping with an exam and preparing rooms. They step in where needed.
Generally speaking, a high school diploma or its equivalent is the only educational requirement for being a vet assistant. That being said, though, it’s to your advantage to look for opportunities to gain experience working with animals and to earn a veterinary assistant certificate.
What Do Vet Assistants Do?
Just because vet assistants don’t have a two-year associate’s degree doesn’t mean they are relegated to cleaning kennels and filing patient paperwork–although there can be a good bit of that.
Vet assistants can:
- Check patients in and help soothe nervous patients and pet owners
- Weigh animals and take vital signs
- Help restrain animals while they are being examined or getting vaccines
- Bathe and feed animals
- Provide monitoring and care for animals in post-op
- Clean and dress wounds
- Take lab samples for laboratory animal testing
- Give certain medications (controlled substances and painkillers may be off-limits, depending on state regulations)
- Provide client education on post-treatment care and proper at-home patient management.
Vet assistants hop from duty to duty. Expect to be on your feet a lot and ready to step in wherever needed!
Depending on the practice, vet assistants may be the first to arrive in the morning to check on patients in post-operative or kennel care and make sure everything is in order for the day before the rest of the staff and the first patients arrive.
What Qualities Do the Best Vet Assistants Have?
A passion for animals and providing great veterinary care are high on the list, but as mentioned, it can be a pretty demanding job, not just physically but emotionally. Not every patient makes it. Saying “goodbye” to pets you’ve cared for throughout their lives is tough.
Communication skills are a must for vet assistants. Being a “people person” is also a plus for a couple of reasons.
You’ll be working with and supporting several other staff members in the veterinary office. Being able to work as part of a team is crucial.
There are always plenty of high-strung, worried pet owners on any given day. Empathy and good people skills are a must.
The best vet assistants are flexible and able to bounce from one task to the next with a high level of competency. Vet assistants hop from duty to duty. Expect to step in wherever needed!
Vet assistants need to be physically strong. Lifting dogs on and off exam tables is part of the job, but so is hauling heavy bags of food, bedding, kitty litter, and other supplies. Each veterinary practice should have its own physical requirements. Make sure you know what is expected of you beforehand so you can commit to the level of strength needed.
Computer skills are a definite plus. Vet assistants often perform a lot of clerical work and billing, so it helps to know your way around a Mac or PC.
Where Can Vet Assistants Work?
Besides veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, and emergency care centers, vet assistants are needed by any facility that houses or cares for animals. Animal shelters and humane societies often need vet assistants, as do research labs at universities and other animal facilities.
In addition, zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers frequently hire vet assistants, so if your interests lie more in exotic or wild animals, being a vet assistant allows you to care for more than just domesticated animals.
Vet Assistant Salary
If you are concerned about salary–and who isn’t–vet assistants earn a salary on par with many other careers that do not require a degree. Preschool teachers, receptionists, bank tellers and vet assistants all earn an average salary in the mid-$30,000 range.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites the average salary for vet assistants at over $36,000. Some roles such as animal care attendant, veterinary technician assistant, or approved veterinary assistant may offer slightly different pay scales.
How to Become a Veterinary Assistant
As indicated, a high school diploma or equivalency is all that is required by most employers. You technically can be hired as a vet assistant and get on-the-job training.
In reality, it takes a good bit of luck to land a veterinary assistant job without any more experience or credentials than a high school degree. So many people want to work with animals that you’ll be up against job candidates with animal care experience or who have completed an approved veterinary assistant program.
To improve your chances of landing a job, you might want to consider earning your veterinary assistant certificate. Earning a veterinary assistant certificate takes about a year and teaches you what you need to know to begin work in the veterinary field:
- How to safely restrain animals so they can receive care
- Animal first aid and CPR
- How to clean and prepare exam and surgical rooms in a veterinary hospital
- How to assist in surgery under a veterinary surgeon
- Veterinary-specific pharmacy information
- Animal nursing care
- Laboratory procedures
Earning your vet assistant certificate tells potential employers you are serious about working in veterinary medicine, know what the job entails, and will need little training.
Finding a Veterinary Assistant School
Animal Behavior College has been training people for animal careers since 1997, and we offer excellent training for would-be vet assistants. Our comprehensive curriculum includes all you need to know to start working in a veterinary setting as soon as you earn your certificate.
ABC even provides real-world experience via our mentoring program known as an “externship.” Once students complete the online portion of the program, they are paired up with a nearby mentor facility to see what a real veterinary clinic is like and to practice newly learned skills.
You can enroll anytime! Just call 800-795-3294 and an admissions counselor can help get you started!
Veterinary Assistant FAQ
Q: What is the difference between a veterinary assistant and a veterinary technologist?
A: A veterinary assistant helps support staff and veterinarians with everyday tasks, while a veterinary technologist typically has a four-year degree and performs more advanced procedures.
Q: Is online veterinary assistant training available?
A: Yes! Many programs, including those from Animal Behavior College, offer online veterinary assistant training that includes hands-on externships.
Q: Can vet assistants work with farm animals or miniature horses?
A: Absolutely. Some veterinary practices and shelters focus on farm animals or offer services for miniature horses, and veterinary assistants play an important role.
Q: What are some career options after becoming a vet assistant?
A: Many vet assistants go on to become animal trainers, licensed veterinary technicians or even veterinarians. Others may work in animal husbandry, animal rescue, or become animal assisted therapists.
Q: Where can I work after completing a veterinary assistant program?
A: Veterinary assistants work in a variety of places including veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, wildlife rehabilitation centers, animal shelters, and even educational facilities focused on veterinary technology and veterinary dentistry.
If you’re passionate about animals and looking to begin a rewarding career, veterinary assisting may be the perfect path for you!
