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The differences between animal health technicians and emergency veterinary technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an animal health technician and an emergency veterinary technician. Additionally, an emergency veterinary technician has an average salary of $38,689, which is higher than the $37,267 average annual salary of an animal health technician.
The top three skills for an animal health technician include animal handling, IM and laboratory animals. The most important skills for an emergency veterinary technician are patients, PET, and catheter.
| Animal Health Technician | Emergency Veterinary Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,267 | $38,689 |
| Hourly rate | $17.92 | $18.60 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 89,376 | 109,185 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Animal health technicians work primarily in an animal diagnostics laboratory, where they test specimens according to a veterinarian's requests. The animal health technician must be capable of operating all of the necessary diagnostics equipment for animal care. The animal health technician must provide accurate results on diagnostic requests coming from a veterinarian. Added responsibilities of an animal health technician are educating owners on taking care of their pets, ensuring that all equipment is working correctly, and providing accurate results for better diagnosis.
Emergency veterinary technicians assist with treating animals by running blood tests, administering treatments or medications, among others. A typical degree program to be a veterinary technician runs around for almost two years. Being on call for intensive care, monitoring vitals, placing catheters, taking x-rays, cleaning wounds, and applying bandages or casts are just some of the responsibilities of an emergency veterinary technician. The skills needed to be an emergency veterinary technician include intensive knowledge of animal biology, animal husbandry, knowledge of animal behavior, documentation skills, clinical skills, analyzing information, use of medical technologies, and attention to detail.
Animal health technicians and emergency veterinary technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Animal Health Technician | Emergency Veterinary Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,267 | $38,689 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $58,000 | Between $29,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Rohnert Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Cape Cod Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between an animal health technician and an emergency veterinary technician in terms of educational background:
| Animal Health Technician | Emergency Veterinary Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Animal Science | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | Ohio State University | New York University |
Here are the differences between animal health technicians' and emergency veterinary technicians' demographics:
| Animal Health Technician | Emergency Veterinary Technician | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4% | Male, 28.0% Female, 72.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |