I’ve been at my current employer (veterinarian) for just shy of a year. Last year, I desperately needed an internship site that was willing to hire me for a decent wage, and they fit the bill. Now, as a licensed technician, I am ready to move on. There has never even been a whisper of a discussion of a raise for me, and just last week they announced that they may have to cut some hours. Since the person whose hours should be cut won’t (she’s the boss’s daughter), and I’m the lowest man on the totem pole, I have a feeling it may be me. Plus, the 26 mile roundtrip commute is a killer when gas is $4 a gallon and I get 20 miles to the gallon.
SO … as soon as my clothes dry, I’m going to start pounding the pavement. I’ve got a little notebook with the name, phone number, and location of the 16 nearest veterinary clinics, and a folder of freshly printed resumes to pass out. Wish me luck!
Good luck! A good vet tech is worth their weight in gold, or so says my sister, the veterinarian. She’s just in her first year of practice at a large clinic, but she loves her good techs and honestly wonders why she gets paid so much and they get paid so little, comparatively. Not that she’ll voluntarily give up her money, mind, she does enjoy getting it!
There’s no money; I was showing them how to use Quckbooks correctly (as opposed to just using it as a glorified check register), and had a brief glance at the bank account. Essentially, whatever money is made one week is used to pay the bills next week, and there’s not a penny left over.
I’m a girl; my bra was in the dryer.
My initial major straight out of high school was equine pre-vet, but things didn’t work out that way. I worked in a clinic as an assistant/receptionist back in 2000 - 2002, and only left because the owner was … not a good employer. After baby #2 was born, I needed to do something with my life that wasn’t just one crappy soul sucking office job after another, so I went back to school. I love what I do, and like where I am, but it’s just not working for me any more.
I know that there’s no way I want to go to vet school (HUGE debt, not enough money), and even if I did it’s not logistically possible. We’d have to move about an hour away for me to even be in the closest pre-vet program, then getting INTO vet school isn’t a guarantee. Harder than getting into med school, actually. Besides, much like a human nurse, I do much more of the hands-on patient care and client education that the DVM, and I really enjoy that.
Good luck! You definitely deserve more money with the certification. I work in a position to see the pay rates of all kinds of jobs, and I can say that uncertified techs often make barely over minimum wage (depending on age and experience they might start around $8-$10 an hour and go up from there). But certified techs with NO experience should be starting around $13 and, over time, can expect to make it into the $15-$25+ range (again, a lot depends on age/experience, and I think emergency vets/overnight shifts pay better). One time I saw a tech making over $30 an hour, but she’d been in the job forever.
A couple times I’ve seen a certified tech who’s making less than $10/hour and it made me :dubious:. Either their cost of living is really low, or they are seriously underpaid. But you can break out! Just make sure *not *to provide your current rate when applying around. It won’t be relevant to the rate you could/should be making, any more than a college student’s wages from their last summer job is relevant to the first job that uses their degree. But fortunately, your pre-certified vet work still counts as job experience.
Ah, gotcha. It just seemed such a non-sequitur, I thought I had missed something. Good luck with your job hunt then. I wish you a bright future in which you can afford to own two bras!
My search is going well so far. I got a phone call on Friday, had an interview this morning, and have a working interview next Monday! I did explain to them that there are things I haven’t done much in the past year (like placing catheters) but you can bet your sweet ass I’ll be practicing this week! I knew I had done well when she asked me if I’d like a tour of the place and introduced me to everyone. Cautiously optimistic.
Fingers crossed! I hate to ask, but how do you practice placing catheters? I have a mental image of all the neighborhood critters eying you suspiciously… :eek:
So I was there for three hours this morning. I felt like I barely did anything useful, but apparently I was very helpful. I know part of a working interview is just seeing how you fit in a place and go with the flow, so I’m pretty sure I did a good job of that. I was told I’d hear something by the end of the week, so I will stay positive that this is going to work!
All I’ve heard back is that someone in the decision-making process was out of the office for a few days last week, so they haven’t made a decision. I got a call yesterday from a clinic I’d already spoken to; unfortunately they need someone who can work 1-9 or 3-11, plus 2 or 3 weekends a month AND pick up the occasional day shift as needed. I guess she forgot that we’d already discussed it and it won’t work for me. My husband works two nights a week, and we have a son in kindergarten and one in daycare. If I were desperately searching I might take it, but since I’m not, I won’t.
Sooooooooo … here I am again, three weeks later. (This time I’m waiting for my shirt to dry.) I’ve got seven clinics in my notebook that I plan on visiting today. Wish me luck!
Just looking in to see how things are going for you, Avarie537. Sounds like you are doing the social connection / networking thing… that was the big thing I had to learn to do in my job search. Just firing off resumes to posted positions rarely works.
Just work on a leg while they’re already under anesthesia.