veterinary technician
Veterinary technicians provide the technical and administrative support to the veterinarian in accordance with national legislation.
veterinary technician veterinary technicians provide the technical and administrative support to the veterinarian in accordance with national legislation. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include biosecurity related to animals, signs of animal illness, animal welfare legislation, animal welfare, physiology of animals.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £25,067 a year for Animal care services occupations n.e.c. (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £22,826 to £27,865 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 6129). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only veterinary technician, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Chemistry
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
What you'd actually do
- Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
- Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
- Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
- Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
- Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does veterinary technician do?
Veterinary technicians provide the technical and administrative support to the veterinarian in accordance with national legislation.
What skills does veterinary technician need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include biosecurity related to animals, signs of animal illness, animal welfare legislation, animal welfare, physiology of animals, environmental enrichment for animals. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace veterinary technician?
Our AI-durability model gives veterinary technician a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.