The Average Vet Tech Salary
Several organizations release information yearly on what is the average vet tech salary each year. This is why you often see differences in the average salary. Some of these include the US government, the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) and also tech schools themselves will release the average salary of their graduates.
From doing some research on my own here is what I have found. Remember to take what you find with a grain of salt. Especially if they are from vet tech schools themselves who are heavily recruiting you.
2005: US report: average salary across U.S. is $26,710 with the top 10 percentile earning an average of $37,360. Hourly estimates are $12 to $15 an hour.
2003: NAVTA indicates average full-time salary of a vet tech is $30,500 yearly
Here is some more updated information I found at payscale.com
Vet tech less than 1 year ($26,491 median salary)
Vet tech 1-4 years ($28,882 median salary)
Vet tech 5-9 years ($30,644 median salary)
Vet tech 10-19 years ($35,595 median salary)
Vet tech 20 or more years ($38,000 median salary)
There is also a breakdown by employer type as well and of course one of the lowest is private practice. The highest medial salary for vet techs was from Government with those vet techs earning a median income of $50,000.
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Always take any salary figures you see for vet techs with a grain of salt. Some of us have been working for years in private practice with a very small salary.
Don’t do this profession for the money, unless you are set on working for the government or a pharmaceutical company, then you also have great benefits too, something else that is often lacking in private practice.
