Who are RVTs beyond the practice?

While many RVTs have fulfilling careers working as generalists in the field, others have keen interests they want to explore: a particular area of animal medicine; specific skills they want to apply; continuing education or former education they want to apply; an entrepreneurial spirit they want to follow; or a combination of skills, education and experience they fashion into a unique career.

When imagining what’s beyond the practice for you, it’s important to consult with your provincial veterinary regulator to ensure your business complies within your provincial veterinary regulations.

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Career planning

The career options open to RVTs are as diverse and inspiring as the animals they care for and the pet owners they support.

An RVT’s preferred work setting can help them determine the type of career in veterinary medicine they would like to explore. Settings include:

• Animal health care industry
• Animal hospitals
• Animal shelters
• Livestock health facilities
• National/provincial/territorial parks
• Pathology clinics
• Research labs
• Universities and colleges
• Vet clinics
• Wildlife centres
• Zoos
• Etc.

As well, an RVT can decide on the type of job they are drawn to, including:

• Animal behaviourist
• Animal health business staff
• Animal welfare advocate
• Consultant
• Educator
• Entrepreneur/Owner
• Leader
• Manager
• Policy analyst
• Product specialist/manager
• Researcher
• RVT
• Staff at veterinary medicine association/RVT association
• Etc.

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Education

The following list of courses provides a glimpse of the myriad of roles RVTs can explore and practice:

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Compensation & hours

Compensation

As in every profession, there are a number of factors that influence compensation, including: your level of education; your experience; the part of the industry you’re working in; if you have your own practice or are working at a veterinary clinic; the province or territory you’re practicing in; the number of years you’ve been practicing; the size of practice where you’re working; the type of practice; whether you’re practicing in an urban or rural setting; and external factors such as supply and demand and the country’s overall economic situation. The average salary/compensation can vary greatly.

Hours

This category of RVT career options encompasses a large variety of jobs. It’s not possible to state the exact number of hours in a workweek, however, most would range between the average eight hours a day, five days a week. If you’re an entrepreneur, longer hours are often the norm.