Summary Report for:
31-9096.00 - Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine post-operative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
Sample of reported job titles:
Veterinary Assistant (Vet Assistant), Veterinary Technician (Vet Tech), Kennel Technician, Veterinarian Assistant, Groomer, Kennel Assistant, Animal Care Provider, Kennel Attendant, Kennel Worker, Veterinary Surgery Technician
Tasks | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Monitor animals' recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
- Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
- Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments and equipment.
- Administer medication, immunizations, and blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Provide emergency first aid to sick or injured animals.
- Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination and operating rooms, and animal loading/unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
- Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.
- Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests such as taking and developing x-rays.
- Fill medication prescriptions.
- Collect laboratory specimens such as blood, urine, and feces for testing.
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Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
| Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
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Abilities
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Extent Flexibility — The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
| Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
| Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. |
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Work Activities
| Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
| Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. |
| Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. |
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Work Context
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings — How often does this job require exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings? |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections — How often does this job require exposure to disease/infections? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed. |
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Interests
Interest code: RIS
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
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Work Styles
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
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Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2007) |
$9.98 hourly, $20,770 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
75,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Faster than average (14% to 20%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
21,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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