Vet Nurse vs Vet Tech

A vet nurse provides the supportive care of animals receiving treatment within a veterinary practice, while a vet tech is a professional that specializes in animal care. A vet nurse works in a veterinary office with doctors. A vet nurse can have many responsibilities at work, such as assisting a vet during surgery, providing animals with physical therapy, administering medication and analyzing laboratory specimens to help develop a diagnosis.

How To Become A Veterinary Nurse: What It Is and Career Path

What is a veterinary nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Ashlee Barnes DNP, APRN, FNP-C

The average veterinary nurse salary is $34,511. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an medical assisting services major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become a veterinary nurse. Veterinary nurses with a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 20% and produce 24,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Veterinary Nurse?

Dr. Ashlee Barnes DNP, APRN, FNP-C

Assistant Professor, University of Detroit Mercy

Nursing remains an excellent career path, characterized by its evolving landscape and opportunities, continual growth, and soaring demand in a variety of settings. Nursing guarantees job stability, possibility for both personal and professional advancement, and the satisfaction of positively impacting people's lives.

ScoreVeterinary NurseUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,511

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.7

Growth Rate 20%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 2.06%

Black or African American 2.66%

Hispanic or Latino 10.86%

Unknown 6.84%

White 77.31%

Gender

female 85.18%

male 14.82%

Age - 31

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 31

Stress Level

9.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.0

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.9

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a veterinary nurse

Explore veterinary nurse education requirements

Most common veterinary nurse degrees

Bachelor's

49.8 %

Associate

32.2 %

High School Diploma

7.0 %

Start to develop specific veterinary nurse skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	21.04%
Patient Care	8.45%
PET	8.27%
Catheter	6.13%
Medical Procedures	5.85%

Complete relevant veterinary nurse training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New veterinary nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a veterinary nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real veterinary nurse resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed veterinary nurse usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed veterinary nurse in most of states. 30 states require veterinary nurses to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Veterinarian Technician
Kansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Veterinary Technicians
Kentucky	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Veterinary Technologist/Technician
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Veterinary Technician
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Veterinary Technician

Research veterinary nurse duties and responsibilities

Place intravenous catheters manage iv lines and medication administration.
Monitor anesthesia and first-assist in surgical procedures -assist doctors in filling prescriptions, communicating with pet owners, and monitoring patients.
Prepare oxygen, fluid and catheter equipment for routine use and emergency situations.
Administer vaccinations, medications, catheter placement, surgery assisting and monitoring.

Prepare your veterinary nurse resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your veterinary nurse resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a veterinary nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Veterinary Nurse Resume templates

Build a professional Veterinary Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Veterinary Nurse resume.

Apply for veterinary nurse jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a veterinary nurse job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do veterinary nurses rate their job?

-/5

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Veterinary Nurse reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

Working with animals

Cons

Low wages for the amount of work we put in Angry / disrespectful clients Long and unpredictable hours of work