Also called: Surgical Research Technician
Assists with and sometimes performs surgeries on research animals under veterinary supervision.
Preps a pig for a study testing a new heart valve, monitors anesthesia, assists the surgeon, and cares for the animal during recovery. Breakthrough devices are often tested this way before reaching people.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 3 years after high school. Vet tech degree plus surgical research training.
Ways in: 2-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Veterinary Technology (associate).
Growing much faster than average (about 9% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Monitoring equipment helps, but prepping, anesthetizing and assisting surgeries on research animals stays hands-on.
Classes: Biology, Anatomy & physiology, Vet-science CTE, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-2056.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.