How to hire an emergency veterinary technician

Emergency veterinary technician hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring emergency veterinary technicians in the United States:

The median cost to hire an emergency veterinary technician is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
Small businesses spend $1,105 per emergency veterinary technician on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
There are a total of 88,559 emergency veterinary technicians in the US, and there are currently 109,185 job openings in this field.
San Diego, CA, has the highest demand for emergency veterinary technicians, with 12 job openings.

How to hire an emergency veterinary technician, step by step

To hire an emergency veterinary technician, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a emergency veterinary technician:

Here's a step-by-step emergency veterinary technician hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write an emergency veterinary technician job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency veterinary technician
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an emergency veterinary technician do?

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.

Learn more about the specifics of what an emergency veterinary technician does

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring an emergency veterinary technician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

An emergency veterinary technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, emergency veterinary technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

This list presents emergency veterinary technician salaries for various positions.

Type of Emergency Veterinary Technician	Description	Hourly rate
Emergency Veterinary Technician	Veterinary technologists and technicians perform medical tests under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian to assist in diagnosing the injuries and illnesses of animals.	$13-23
Emergency Room Nurse	As the name entails, emergency room nurses typically work in emergency rooms of hospitals to provide care for patients in need of immediate treatment for severe medical conditions such as injury or trauma. They work with a team of healthcare professionals such as physicians and other nurses to administer medications to patients, monitor health conditions, and plan for long-term care needs... Show more	$24-60
Emergency Department Volunteer	The Emergency Department (ED) Volunteer provides non-medical support by assisting medical and administrative staff. They deliver excellent service by visiting and monitoring medical results and helping patients expedite and improve patient care... Show more	$12-19

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Patients
- PET
- Catheter
- Phlebotomy
- CPR
- Anesthesia
- Vital Signs
- Triage
- EKG
- IV
- Catheter Placement
- Critical Care
- Patient Assessment
- Compassion
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Place intravenous catheters manage iv lines and medication administration.
- Perform EKG's, apply splints, administer wind care, and assist during CPR under direction of physicians.
- Monitor anesthesia for endoscopic procedures (Upper/lower GI scope, Rhinoscopy, Bronchoscopy, Cystoscopy, FB retrieval scopes etc . )
- Charge with setting up and cleaning endoscopy equipment as well as operating biopsy equipment.
- Assist with CPR, wind care, basic life support, and basic trauma life support measures.
- Assist doctors with endoscopic procedures including but not limit to rhinoscopies, bronchoscopies and upper GI endoscopies.
More emergency veterinary technician duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your emergency veterinary technician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An emergency veterinary technician can vary based on:

Location. For example, emergency veterinary technicians' average salary in arkansas is 39% less than in california.
Seniority. Entry-level emergency veterinary technicians 41% less than senior-level emergency veterinary technicians.
Certifications. An emergency veterinary technician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an emergency veterinary technician's salary.

Average emergency veterinary technician salary

$38,689yearly

$18.60 hourly rate

Entry-level emergency veterinary technician salary

$29,000 yearly salary

Updated January 20, 2026

Average emergency veterinary technician salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$48,727	$23
2	Massachusetts	$44,611	$21
3	Pennsylvania	$41,782	$20
4	District of Columbia	$41,034	$20
5	Nebraska	$40,605	$20
6	New Jersey	$40,494	$19
7	Arizona	$39,200	$19
8	Colorado	$38,962	$19
9	Illinois	$37,644	$18
10	Minnesota	$37,517	$18
11	Florida	$36,296	$17
12	Michigan	$34,765	$17
13	Wisconsin	$34,647	$17
14	Texas	$33,719	$16
15	Iowa	$33,606	$16
16	Louisiana	$32,361	$16
17	Oklahoma	$32,177	$15
18	New Mexico	$31,726	$15
19	Utah	$31,272	$15
20	Georgia	$31,213	$15

Average emergency veterinary technician salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Cape Cod Healthcare	$41,136	$19.78	5
2	Prime Healthcare	$40,723	$19.58	85
3	Rarebreed Veterinary Partners	$40,244	$19.35	43
4	Maple Grove Inc	$39,930	$19.20	1
5	First Transit	$39,906	$19.19
6	Ethos Veterinary Health	$39,875	$19.17	223
7	BluePearl Vet	$39,651	$19.06	179
8	VCA Animal Hospitals	$39,484	$18.98	1,288
9	University Of Minnesota Physicians	$39,305	$18.90	11
10	Systems Planning and Analysis	$39,185	$18.84	3
11	National Veterinary Associates	$38,624	$18.57	649
12	Conemaugh Health System	$38,196	$18.36
13	Lahey Health Behavioral Services	$37,545	$18.05
14	Signature Healthcare	$37,161	$17.87	8
15	Highmark	$36,704	$17.65	99
16	CuyunaMedicalCenter	$36,411	$17.51	2
17	University of Pennsylvania	$36,410	$17.50	23
18	Northwestern Medicine	$35,723	$17.17	104
19	Mission Regional Medical Center	$35,474	$17.05	117
20	Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Inc	$34,598	$16.63	3

Writing an emergency veterinary technician job description
A job description for an emergency veterinary technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an emergency veterinary technician job description:
Emergency veterinary technician job description example
Per Diem employees must work at least 2 shifts per month.

About the Job: As a Vet Tech in the Emergency and Critical Care department you will be responsible for:
- Triaging incoming patients and managing clients throughout their visit
- Partner with DVM’s in patient assessment, diagnostics, treatments, and procedures
- Obtaining and processing laboratory samples such as blood, urine, free fluid, and fine needle aspirates.
- Utilize different modalities of imaging for patient assessment.
- Executing, monitoring, and recovering all assigned sedation and anesthetic events.
Training requirements: Training will need to consist of 2 shifts per week for 3 weeks to allow proper training and procedural protocols.

About You:
- Minimum of 1+ year of experience working in a veterinary hospital setting required. Recent graduates with an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Technology will be considered; CVT, LVT, or VTS desired but not required.
- Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills that enable them to develop and foster long term positive working relationships with colleagues, clients, and the community.
- Work well independently and in a team environment where colleagues lead by example and hold themselves accountable for quality medicine and customer service.
- Strong computer skills to work with a paperless information system.
- Flexible, cooperative, dependable, responsible, and good time-management skills to work in a fast-pace environment that can be highly stressful at times.
About Bulger Veterinary Hospital: Bulger is a full-service hospital that offers comprehensive care that includes General Practice, 24-hour Emergency Services, and Specialty Medicine in the areas of Ophthalmology, Surgery, Exotics, Radiology, Internal Medicine, and Cardiology.

Thank you for reading our job posting.

Ethos is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Ethos does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, merit, and business need.

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Post your job
To find emergency veterinary technicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any emergency veterinary technicians they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level emergency veterinary technicians with the right educational background.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your emergency veterinary technician job on Zippia to find and attract quality emergency veterinary technician candidates.
- Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit emergency veterinary technicians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency veterinary technician
Once you've selected the best emergency veterinary technician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.
To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire an emergency veterinary technician?

Before you start to hire emergency veterinary technicians, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire emergency veterinary technicians pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $38,689 per year for an emergency veterinary technician, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for emergency veterinary technicians in the US typically range between $13 and $23 an hour.

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Emergency Veterinary Technician
How to hire an Emergency Veterinary Technician

Updated January 20, 2026

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How to hire an emergency veterinary technician