Also called: VTS, Specialty Vet Tech
An advanced vet tech certified in a specialty like anesthesia, emergency care, or dentistry.
Manages anesthesia for a complicated surgery on an old dog with heart disease, trains newer techs, and runs the ICU's toughest cases overnight.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 6 years after high school. Credentialed vet tech plus years of specialty experience, case logs, and a VTS exam.
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. Monitors and AI alarms assist anesthesia; managing fragile patients, ICU nursing and training techs stay hands-on.
Classes: Biology, Chemistry, Vet-science CTE, Algebra.
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.