Online Veterinary Technician Schools

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If you are interested in earning a vet tech degree, but can't travel to an on-site institution, then you needn't give up hope. Below you'll find a carefully assembled list of great schools offering onine vet tech programs. With an online vet tech degree, you can further your education without having to significantly disrupt your normal schedule. For online students, a less specialized degree in business or science could also be a good segueway into a career in the animal care or veterinary industry. Below are some of the top online colleges in the United States.

Veterinarian Assisting Dog Obedience Instructor	Animal Behavior College — Animal Behavior College offers an online program for veterinarian assisting that delivers quality education through its relevant and hands-on assignments. ABC is the only school that is owned and operated by professionals with in the pet industry, making it an excellent choice for students who want an education they can use right out of college. ABC also offers a program in dog obedience instruction.
Veterinarian Assisting Animal Care Specialist	Ashworth University — One of the most trusted names in education, Ashworth University gained its reputation from its commitment to students and alumni. Part of this is offering convenient options for students to pursue their education through online programs that can be completed from any computer with no onsite visitation required. Ashworth has two programs in vet tech, veterinary assisting and animal care specialist.
Veterinarian Assisting Pet Groomer Dog Obedience Trainer	Penn Foster Career College — Penn Foster Career College has a veterinary assistant program available through online classes in addition to pet groomer and dog obedience trainer programs for students interested in working with animals. Penn is an affordable option for students who want to quickly achieve career goals with several forms of financial aid for those who qualify. Penn specializes in delivering fast-paced curriculum with career-oriented assignments leading up to an associate degree.

Other Related Online Veterinary Technician Programs

BS in Health Science	Kaplan University — While Kaplan University does not offer a program specific to veterinary assisting, students will gain much of the required knowledge through the health science bachelor degree program. Students gain an understanding of how technology and healthcare coincide and deliver the capabilities to analyze, diagnose, and treat conditions and injuries. Additional training may be required to meet your career goals.
BS in Health Science	Grand Canyon University — The bachelor program in health science from Grand Canyon University is designed to teach students about health care systems and trends, risk management, health care regulations, pharmacology, and statistics. Much of this carries over to veterinary assisting, but more training and certification may be required. GCU is one of the nation's largest online Christian schools with degree programs available at every educational level, perfect for students with different life goals in mind.

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Veterinary technicians work with veterinarians and in an animal clinic or sanctuary environment. Vet techs assist veterinarians with everything from x-rays to soothing an animal and preparing it for a procedure. Veterinary technicians can obtain an associates or bachelor degree and must also obtain certification in order to work. You will have to pass an exam that covers all of the basics of veterinary tech work such as animal nursing, surgery prep, laboratory procedures and pharmacology. This exam is called the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) and passing this is exam is essential for working at any animal hospital or clinic. It is a fast growing industry that’s expected to rise 36% through 2018. That is much faster than the average job.

You will have to complete internship hours to become a veterinary technician. The number of hours varies by state. Some veterinary tech programs are set up by the school. Veterinary tech is a popular online degree and in these cases, you may have to find your own animal hospital or clinic to intern with. It is important for you to find out whether the school will set up your clinicals because this gives you time to seek out a vet clinic willing to let you come in and shadow a tech on the job. Try to find a position where you will be exposed to all vet tech responsibilities include surgery prep and dental work for animals. This allows you to see the wide scope of things vet techs deal with on a daily basis.

After graduating, look into joining the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). This will give you networking opportunities and let you interact with those who already work as vet technicians to get a feel for what the job market is like throughout your region. NAVTA is also the organization that offers continuing education for veterinary technicians. Conferences are held annually to educate vet technicians on the latest developments and techniques being used in the field.

Vet technicians who specialize in an area such as equine, critical care, dentistry or internal medicine will have more job opportunities than those who have only general experience with caring for animals. Vet technicians will have opportunity for advanced positions working in a specialized area such as wildlife. There are many job openings for vet techs at sanctuaries and wildlife rehabilitation centers. This is where the most opportunity for career and salary growth are, so it will be to your advantage to study one of these areas in-depth. You will most likely have to relocate to take advantage of these job openings unless you have an animal sanctuary nearby.

The average salary for a veterinary technician is about $29,000 per year. This goes up substantially for vet techs who specialize in a certain area and can offer specialized care to animals in need. Those working with equine and wildlife animals can make up to $45,000 per year.

Where will I work as a veterinary technician?

Animal clinic

A veterinary technician most often works at an animal clinic. In this setting, you help the vet with anything he or she needs regarding caring for the animal. You also help prepare animals for surgery or other procedures. Veterinary technicians working at an animal clinic typically stay at their jobs for a long duration of time. They may also be promoted to head vet tech if the animal clinic expands and hires an additional tech. Many small animal clinics operate with only one vet tech on staff.

Wildlife sanctuary

Wildlife sanctuary often hire vet techs to aid the vets and sanctuary staff on a regular basis with sick animals. Wildlife sanctuaries are often located in rural areas. Finding a job at a wildlife sanctuary may be difficult because you will have to call around or search the Internet for openings. You may also have to travel to the sanctuary for an interview with the sanctuary director and the vet staff.

Zoo

Zoos are often the work place of choice for veterinary technicians. This is because they allow you to perhaps work close to home while learning about and treating exotic animals. You will not have to relocate as you might for a sanctuary or rehabilitation job, but you still put your exotic animal expertise to use and are paid accordingly. Working in a zoo for awhile is also a great way to gain experience with exotic animals. After this, you may seek additional certification for working with exotic animals and have the opportunity to move to a wildlife sanctuary.