<p>My name is Beth and I am 27 years old. For the past 9 years I have worked in care homes for adults with mental and physical disabilities. It was my future career, my husband and I were to inherit my fathers company. However hard times forced his hand and the house had to close down. So now my husband and I are out of work. We can survive on one income and me getting financial aid so I have chosen to go back to school. I'm feeling very strong in the choice for vet tech then maybe veterinarian. I enjoy math, not too familiar with science however I think with practice I can learn it just fine. I just wanted to know if this was a wise move. I want to do something that will hold up in today's economy hover I also want to enjoy what I do. My secondary option would be pharmacy tech however I am unsure how much I would truly enjoy that. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly I appreciated thank you.</p>
<p>My daughter looked into this. You cannot support a family on a vet techs salary and it is extremely hard to get into vet school, even harder than med school. She is looking at becoming a surgical assistant then a nurse. You may not need two careers however. She has some extended reasons she is doing it that way. But those are two professions that don’t require that long to go to college for and still make enough money to support a family. One surgical assistant I spoke with recommended Meridian in Tennessee it’s almost all online. Supposedly with Obamacare allied health personnel will be used more so they can save money on doctors.</p>
<p>My cousin’s wife is a vet tech and did her program through her local CC. She could not survive on that salary and used it to supplement her husband’s salary. </p>
<p>My dd did an internship with a vet who had numerous vet techs. DD reported that she wouldn’t want to do vet tech because they had to do a lot and didn’t get paid very much.</p>
<p>I second the above posts. Salaries above $30K are pretty rare for a vet tech, and jobs in the $20K range are more common. Pretty ridiculous considering all they have to deal with. The nice thing about vet techs, though, is that they are VERY in demand. </p>
<p>Nursing would be something to consider instead…especially with your background in care homes.</p>
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Not necessarily. It depends on your state residency. If you’re lucky enough to live in a state with a vet school, you have an extremely good shot at getting in as long as you do well in all of the required coursework and have the appropriate animal handling and vet experience. Take NC State as an example. Last year it had an admit rate of 41% for in-state applicants, a figure MUCH higher than any comparably elite medical school. For OOS applicants, however, the admit rate was a mere 4%. </p>
<p>Nationwide, there’s almost exactly 2.3 applicants per spot for both vet and medical school.</p>