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Like a lot of people who've been on here in the past, I'm feeling a bit lost about what I want to do. As the title suggests, I went to college part time and got an Associate of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology at a local Community College. However, by the time I learned of the pathetic pay for the average vet tech, I was already late into the game and figured I should finish. Now that I've graduated, I'm at a crossroads.
Should I go back to school full time, and get a Bachelor's in something else or stick with this vet tech thing? I understand that there's some wiggle room for techs in the future, including specialization and other animal related jobs. I just worry about the lack of pay, and how long it would take to get into those other areas. Vet assistants slurping up tech jobs certainly doesn't help...
I just worry about going back to school to get a BA in biology, or something, only to get out in the real world and not being able to find decent work. I hear trades are the way to go these days - is that true?
Like a lot of people who've been on here in the past, I'm feeling a bit lost about what I want to do. As the title suggests, I went to college part time and got an Associate of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology at a local Community College. However, by the time I learned of the pathetic pay for the average vet tech, I was already late into the game and figured I should finish. Now that I've graduated, I'm at a crossroads.
Should I go back to school full time, and get a Bachelor's in something else or stick with this vet tech thing? I understand that there's some wiggle room for techs in the future, including specialization and other animal related jobs. I just worry about the lack of pay, and how long it would take to get into those other areas. Vet assistants slurping up tech jobs certainly doesn't help...
I just worry about going back to school to get a BA in biology, or something, only to get out in the real world and not being able to find decent work. I hear trades are the way to go these days - is that true?
So I was in a similar boat as you once
I had done the BSN thing, discovered the career and pay for an RN wasn't what i wanted... did pre med, NEARLY finished ~3.6/31 MCAT/250+ hours/ 2 LORs... then realized that that lifestyle was not for me either, further... medical is a solid industry that will never die out (IMO) but it's not for everyone...
And the "lifestyle" or "work/life balance" going that route, I think is the worst honestly lol.. but that's just my opinion
Anyways, now a days isn't not really "trade" but a "skill" or a "skill set"
I switched to Business eventually which gave me a lot of opportunity and although i went to a very good, prestigious university due to high grades, i STILL focused on a "skill set" that not everyone wants to do, but pays lol
You hear of all these younger guys who want to do "business management" (USELESS LOL) and "own their own company". I tend to laugh at them b/c those are generally unrealistic expectations, well, in the beginning that is.
There are a variety of "skills" that people do not have which require math/derivatives/ LOTS AND LOTS of Algebra that can gain you plentiful employment b/c most people either are too lazy or do not want to do those. So look them up, I do not want to list any but there are A LOT out there but they require hard work and EFFORT(both research and YOU doing the school work/work) Just prepared to work hard for anything in life.
Last edited by The_Man74; 08-01-2015 at 07:54 PM..
Like a lot of people who've been on here in the past, I'm feeling a bit lost about what I want to do. As the title suggests, I went to college part time and got an Associate of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology at a local Community College. However, by the time I learned of the pathetic pay for the average vet tech, I was already late into the game and figured I should finish. Now that I've graduated, I'm at a crossroads.
Should I go back to school full time, and get a Bachelor's in something else or stick with this vet tech thing? I understand that there's some wiggle room for techs in the future, including specialization and other animal related jobs. I just worry about the lack of pay, and how long it would take to get into those other areas. Vet assistants slurping up tech jobs certainly doesn't help...
I just worry about going back to school to get a BA in biology, or something, only to get out in the real world and not being able to find decent work. I hear trades are the way to go these days - is that true?
I cringe whenever I see a freshly minted high school graduate attempting too decide what to do with the rest of his life. Sad really, we're pushing them to make life critical decisions and they don't even know the game.
A Veterinary Technician earns an average wage of $13.54 per hour. A skill in Emergency Medicine is associated with high pay for this job.
The median is $13.00/hour? Really???
Problem with this is someone fresh out of high school loves animals and pets and all is good and wonderful til 5 to 10 years down the road when you got a family to support and these pets are looking so great after all.
But try telling that to a freshly graduated 18 year old kid. Nope, "my passion was always for animals" they scream! Well, sonny, when you have children and a wife of your own your passion will become feeding them and not the stupid animals.
A number of you probably would disagree but my advice would be to take a year off, you already wasted a year in vet tech school so what is the difference, and research what jobs, positions and careers really are out in the world. For every career you've heard about I would venture a guess there's at least a hundred the average high school graduate doesn't even know exists.
For example how about a two year degree and certification in Concrete Technology from Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio? Head there a year after graduating high school, graduate, get the ACI (American Concrete Institute) certification and getting a job is pretty easy. It's a skill set that is required that few have.
After the ACI certification go for NICET Certification in Asphalt/Concrete/Soils as a Level III which should be obtainable before the young person is 25 years old if they work at it. This isn't a job for goof offs, marshmallows and mommy's special snowflake.
Pay is a heck of a lot more than $13/hour.
I've seen some certified people pull down six figure salaries which ain't bad for a two year degree and eight years experience.
To see for yourself do a Google search for "ACI NICET" jobs.
When list comes up go to the ACI site and do a search for certificate holders within a certain area like this job in Albany. On the ACI site I checked for how many ACI CONCRETE LABORATORY TESTING TECHNICIAN - LEVEL 2 technicians are in the area and this 51 records which means there is very little competition for these jobs.
For Albany the possible 51 competitors typically live 100 to 300 miles away. You don't have any competition, got it? Especially if you get dual certs for example an ACI and NICET Level III in Asphalt, concrete and soils and you'll whittle that 51 down to 10 qualified people within a 200 mile radius.
I have something similar and hold a senior level certification as an engineering technician and I am very fortunate.
My advice to anyone would be to not follow the crowd. The American dream is still out there you just got to look for it.
Don't expect to get rich with a BA in Biology. Not a lot of demand out there for those.
BA in biology, nope. BS in biology, yes, much demand. What Ph.Ds were once doing ten years ago techs with only BS degrees are now doing. For example, not that long ago gene sequencing was strictly a Ph.D/post-doc thing. Now techs (with only Bachelor's) just run a sample through a MALDI machine and wala, species identified.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4
The median is $13.00/hour? Really???
Yup, starting pay is closer to $10/hr. And then you get to see all the dogs and cats that were abused. What you see on those TV commercials are the "nice abuse" treatments, they don't show the cats that were set on fire or the dogs who were shot in the face and lived.
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I do the name badges and other signs for several of the local veterinary hospitals, and have been amazed at the turnover rate for the techs. A few have been doing it while in vet school and left after graduation, but when I asked one of the office managers, she told me it was the low pay, and that many ended up going to work as waitresses in restaurants to get a higher income. Here they average $17/hour.
When looking for a career, you need to address what you would like doing, in addition to just the pay. Construction laborers here make more than that and require no degree of any kind, but not everyone is happy doing hard manual labor. If you have a Costco or two nearby, they pay unusually well for all positions, and not many store jobs require degrees.
I do the name badges and other signs for several of the local veterinary hospitals, and have been amazed at the turnover rate for the techs. A few have been doing it while in vet school and left after graduation, but when I asked one of the office managers, she told me it was the low pay, and that many ended up going to work as waitresses in restaurants to get a higher income. Here they average $17/hour.
When looking for a career, you need to address what you would like doing, in addition to just the pay. Construction laborers here make more than that and require no degree of any kind, but not everyone is happy doing hard manual labor. If you have a Costco or two nearby, they pay unusually well for all positions, and not many store jobs require degrees.
you speak the truth so i repped you
I was paid around 14-17 an hour interning, doing all sorts of things for a tech start up I did while finishing undergrad. And i mean i wasn't even finished yet lol
Sometimes you just have to put in the effort to do your research and market your skills accordingly
The real question is, what job/career do you want? You need that information before you can pick a degree. Are you really going to make the same mistake again of picking the degree first and then finding out it won't get you a good job later?
Veterinarians make decent money, OP. You could turn it into a 4-yr. degree. One thing you could do is interview vets and zookeepers in your area. Ask what education they got, and what they recommend for someone wanting to get into the field today. Ask them if the field is growing, shrinking, or staying the same. Ask them what they'd recommend you do, to make yourself marketable in an economically viable profession. You can set up "informational interviews" with these people, just cold-calling, and asking to make an appointment with them. Most people will be pleased to share their experience and advice with you.
Why don't you actually learn from your mistake and research what the market and the pay is like for various degrees before "wasting your time" getting them.
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