The role of a Veterinary Technician in the UK is both respected and financially rewarding. With the growing importance of animal care and health across the country, the demand for skilled veterinary technicians continues to rise. From established veterinary practices in London to emerging clinics in cities like Manchester and Edinburgh, employers are competing for qualified professionals, offering competitive salaries and benefits.
Vet Tech salary
Base pay £21K – £31Kyr
£26K/yr average base pay
The estimated salary for a Veterinary Technician is £25,747 per year. This number represents the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users. The “Most Likely Range” represents values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role.
What do Vet Tech earn
How much does a Vet Tech make in United Kingdom?
£27,170/yr
Highest paying cities for Vet Tech near United Kingdom
- Cobham
£51,972 per year13 salaries reported - Bodmin
£51,072 per year22 salaries reported - London
£46,548 per year9 salaries reported - Bristol
£35,536 per year10 salaries reported - Swindon
£35,282 per year11 salaries reported - Nottingham
£31,205 per year5 salaries reported - Shrewsbury
£29,236 per year5 salaries reported - Wakefield
£23,717 per year5 salaries reported - Manchester
£21,070 per year5 salaries reported
What’s on Quora?
How much money does a certified veterinary technician make? What are the pros and cons of the job?
It’s a lot of paperwork. Alot of poop and pee and anal gland discharge. Animals get stressed out at the vet. Compassion fatigue is serious. You can’t help every pet but the ones you can help alot. Sometimes owners don’t want to do what will better their animals quality of life and you can’t do anything about it.
Some people will put dogs down for the stupidest reasons. It affects you. When owners can’t be with their pet when it’s time for them to go, you stay with them and comfort them the best you can til they pass.
You do a lot of blood draws, physical exams, ear cleanings, vaccines, X-rays, nail trims and ear pluckings. Depending on where you work they will also do teeth cleaning. If you have a surgery position you will: prep the patient by shaving and sterilizing the surgery field, close the patient up ( usually depends on the Vet preference) you will intubate, monitor their vitals while under anesthesia, you’ll wake them up and return their temperature back to normal.
You’ll bandage up patients, remove them, reapply them when needed.
You don’t just get to pet puppies and kittens all day. You have to restain them so no one gets bit or scratched by any animal. You clean up their body fluids alot. YOU HAVE TO ensure that you don’t cross contaminate animals if they have viral infections so you MUST wear the appropriate attire.
If it’s a puppy you don’t let them give you kisses on the mouth as they can transfer zoonotic diseases to you. (This happened to me early on in my career) I ended up giving it my own dog.
I’d have to change outside on the porch and my husband would bleach the floors behind me on my way to the shower.
You run tests on a machine or you count their blood under a microscope if it’s old fashioned.
You do a lot of math based on the patients weight. You set up IV Catheters and fluids. You’re on your feet the whole time. You have to write accurate notes and diagnosis given by the Dr.
You get bit and scratched A LOT. You wrestle with big breeds to keep them still. You work with aggressive dogs and cats. If you’re not prepared to get bit up or scratched on the daily or you’re scared to. This isn’t the job for you. It’s not a factor of if you get bit or scratched it’s when it’ll happen and it’ll happen again and again.
You have to react quickly because some client have heart issues and will pass out. You have to learn when to let a pet calm down so they don’t overheat. (SOME ANIMALS ARE VERY SENSITIVE AND VERY LOW TOLERANCE TO BEING AROUND NEW PEOPLE)
Some doctors will put you in dangerous situations with pets and you’re more likely to be bit that way.
Always watch the patient’s body language to tell you what you need to do or not do. Some clients will talk your ear off due to their loneliness but this visit is about the pet.
I love it! But it’s a lot emotionally and physically. Some days I just cry because it gets overwhelming and others Im bruised up and sore from wrestling to keep a patient still.
Snacks and high value treats don’t work on every dog. I know fear free is being implemented recently and we’ve tried where I worked but sometimes even those methods won’t stop their fear because it’s not fear it’s actually aggression.
We do give treats and treats to the pets as long as they don’t have any allergies in their file. There is cuddling and puppy smells and kittens who are the cutest but that’s not all it is.
This is from my experience as a vet tech in a private practice, a corporate chain, emergency, and surgery. Your actions save lives and your inaction may kill them. Mistakes happen but deal with them right away.
Surgery is fascinating.
Top Answer
In the US it tops out at $30-$35 an hour. The pros are:
Discounted or free vet care for employee pets
you get to play with cute puppies and kittens
You learn a lot about pathophysiology
oh there’s just too many
Cons:
Low pay
you have to clean up vomit, diarrhea, urine, blood and worms
You have to deal with stupid owners who drive up in an expensive car and they want their cat euthanized for an C abscess
you have to express anal sacs
you have to give enemas
you have to look at feces under the microscope to find worm eggs
again…so many
good luck
