5 Reasons To Avoid A Career As A Vet Tech

For many, becoming a vet tech is an easy decision, leading them to enter a profession with excellent career stability and advancement prospects.

However, like all career decisions, becoming a vet tech is not a choice that should be made lightly, especially given its educational and licensing requirements.

In many cases, those who rush into this field find themselves later regretting their choice, finding little satisfaction in their job no matter how financially rewarding it might be.

Here are five reasons why an individual may decide to avoid a career as a vet tech.

1. A Lack of Academic Skill

Individuals seeking to become a veterinary technician are required to complete an accredited program of study. In order to successfully graduate from a veterinary technician program, the student must be able to understand and master his or her academic and laboratory work.

Many individuals find themselves unable to complete this program of study. At the least, they will end up wasting valuable time, while in the worst case a student will leave the program with a heavy debt load and no effective way to pay back any outstanding student loans.

It is important to remember that a school is under no obligation to graduate an individual who cannot meet the school’s academic standards.

Individuals who have had difficulty completing their high school educational curriculum or who find academic work boring should carefully think about whether or not this career is one that they should attempt to enter.

This is especially true for those individuals who find subjects such as biology, math and chemistry difficult or uninteresting.

Finally, because most veterinary care facilities demand a high degree of fluency in both spoken and written English, those individuals who have difficulty with the English language should ask themselves if they can attain the required proficiency this career choice will demand.

2. A Dislike of Animals

Although this should be obvious, only those individuals who like animals and enjoy being around them should become vet techs.

Both pets and their owners can tell the difference between someone who is merely tolerating their beloved companion animal and someone who is deeply invested in their pet’s health.

Furthermore, given how central animal care is to a vet tech’s job, anyone who becomes a vet tech without also liking those animals he or she is required to care for is likely to have a very unhappy career.

In most cases, a vet tech that does not like animals will find that he or she will be dismissed or resign from the position, wasting all of the time and effort spent in becoming a vet tech in the first place.

3. Liking Animals Too Much

While many children think that becoming a vet tech will be a gateway to working with cute animal friends, the vet tech’s job can be a mixed blessing in this area.

A vet tech is a veterinary professional and to put it bluntly, owners do not normally bring healthy animals into a veterinarian’s office.

In some cases, animal lovers may think that they are suited to this profession and then find out that they do not have the emotional qualities to endure a career that often involves working with severely injured animals and in many cases either assisting in or carrying out the euthanization of various animals.

In extreme cases an inability to attain a certain degree of emotional detachment from the job can cause severe psychological difficulties for the vet tech.

As with any field where an individual comes in contact with injured animals and emotionally distraught owners, working as a vet tech requires a certain emotional resilience.

Those who cannot deal with this pressure often find themselves leaving their job due to the emotional distress they will suffer while performing their duties.

4. An Inability to Work with a Team

Veterinary care teams must be able to effectively work together in order to provide the best possible care to the animals they are working with.

For this reason, one of the most important skills a veterinary technician must master is the ability to work with other people, especially during periods of high stress.

This is also important due to the fact that the vet tech will often be put into a supervisory position over less experienced techs, volunteers, and veterinary assistants. Without an ability to easily interact with other individuals, it can be very hard to achieve these goals.

In addition, anyone considering a career as a vet tech should remember that they will be interacting with the owners of any animals that are under the veterinary practice’s care.

Many vet techs find themselves handling the initial meeting with the animal’s owners, which requires maintaining a sympathetic yet professional attitude when dealing with people who can be very distraught over the condition of their pet.

Equally, however, the veterinary technician must resist the temptation to exceed his or her authority when attempting to reassure the animal’s owners. This can be a highly stressful duty, one that demands a great degree of patience and excellent interpersonal skills.

For this reason, individuals who are more comfortable working in an isolated setting should consider another career choice rather than choosing to become a vet tech.

There are numerous careers in the veterinary field that do not require the same high degree of teamwork, so individuals deciding against becoming a vet tech do not have to abandon their dream of working in the field of veterinary medicine.

5. Long-term Career Uncertainty

The final reason one may not wish to become a vet tech is the question of whether or not the individual is certain that he or she wishes to be a long-term veterinary professional.

Becoming a vet tech represents a substantial investment of time, effort and money.

Indeed, depending on the vet tech program and other factors, it could take a student two years or more to enter a program, graduate and then successfully take the veterinary technician’s examination. In addition, all states charge a fee in order to license a veterinary technician.

For this reason, individuals who are uncertain about whether or not they truly wish to become a veterinary technician would be wise to not rush into this field. There are numerous veterinary care employment opportunities that do not have the same licensing and educational requirements and yet still allow the employees to be valued members of a veterinary care team.

Someone who is uncertain about their long-term desires should seriously consider refraining from investing the time and effort it takes to become a licensed veterinary technician until they are certain that this is a career they are truly interested in.

Becoming a vet tech can be an exciting and financially rewarding decision; however, it is not for everyone. Rushing into this field without thinking it over and deciding whether or not this field is what the individual truly desires out of life can result in wasted time, effort and money.