Quitting 74K RN job for a 30K vet tech job? Advice please!

caliotter3 · Jul 9, 2012

No matter what you end up doing, I highly suggest you address your anxiety issues first. It would be very uncomfortable for you to start down a different road, especially with some degree of bridge burning (let's face it, leave your present job and it is likely you won't be welcome back), then have the same anxiety or even worse anxiety. You can't enjoy any kind of life with constant, debilitating anxiety, or any other kind of physical or emotional drain. Take care of your health before you make life-altering changes. Best wishes.

itsmejuli · Jul 10, 2012

Life is short, live your dreams.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2012

around here vet tech starts at 12$ an hour, and you have to be certified/licensed. I have an acquaintance who is one. she's been bitten, scratched, had to deal with psycho "family " members all the while.And they do most of the euthanizing. That's why I never went that route.Nursing sucks, but you get paid decently for it to suck.Agree with others- get the anxiety thing under control- maybe try counseling to see what exactly is setting it off.

If you didnt have family obligations and loved horses, I just found some info that being a track groom or show groom can be pretty decent. If I ddnt have family obligations, thats the route I would go.

What about learning grooming and start a business on the side, then maybe you could say BUHBYE to stinky nursing.

Good luck.

Circejane · Jul 10, 2012

OH wow. Do NOT go work as a Vet Tech. I know the idea of working with animals is really appealing. I've been a Vet Tech. Every single Animal that arrives comes attached to PEOPLE. so you will still be dealing with PEOPLE who are annoying, irritating, upset and angry. They are often worse because in Veterinary medicine, most pets don't carry insurance, and people don't really have a lot of money to throw around. They tend to expect you to somehow give them free care all the time.
I worked as a Vet Tech in a Regular MD office- it was OK, very Boring. Occasionally people were very condescending to me.
I also worked in an Emergency Veterinary clinic where I got to do many interesting things, in the middle of the night. I also got to deal with the payments in the middle of the night, drunk people in the middle of the night, angry poor people in the middle of the night...drug dealers dogs with gun shot wounds in the middle of the night...
That said, I think psych nursing could be really stressful. I think I'd look around at some other nursing things, and I'd probably talk to someone neutral about how to cope better at this point....you should not have to feel so sick from work...

This is right on the money. I was a vet tech for years before going back to school for my RN. While I loved the places that I worked (very similar to the above poster, regular office and Emergency Vet), there are things that I've seen done to animals that still haunt me. It's full of people who can't afford care for their pet, who then either suffers or needs to be put down. It's full of animals coming in who have been HBC (hit by car) or poisoned or what have you. It's the umpteenth owner calling saying, "We're having a baby and need to find a home for our dogs/cats (who have done nothing wrong), can you help?" It's wonderful to help animals, but it's full of a helluva lot of heartbreak, every day, and that's not even getting into the euthanasias. Which happen all the time, for good reasons and bad.

Also, you're not going to be able to test out of classes, for the most part. While your pre-reqs for NS will stand you in good stead, you're still going to have to take most if not all of the vet tech classes towards a degree. A vet tech is a lab tech, radiology tech, receptionist, OR nurse, and everything else, all at once, and the classes reflect that.

On top of that, you're going to make the aforementioned $12-$15 an hour on average, and there is NO LATERAL OR UPWARD MOBILITY. One of the best things about nursing is the ability to change into another area within the field, and the option to get further training/degrees to move up the ladder. In vet med, you're either the vet or the tech. Period.

I'm a firm believer in following your dreams, etc. I've followed mine, and am so happy with nursing. But following your dreams and running away from what is making you unhappy are two different things. I wish you the best of luck in sorting out your anxiety issues and making the fully informed decision that is right for you.

HM-8404, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2012

One thing nobody else has mentioned is... What do your parents think about you ditching your job and moving back in with them? Are you just assuming it will be perfectly fine?

I have a daughter that is 24 and if she called and said she was making a career change with included throwing away her college education to go back to school for a tech job that pays 1/2 of what she currently makes, and will need to move back in for the next two years to attend school, I would not be happy at all. I may be tempted to tell her she is a grown woman and can do whatever she wants, just be sure you can afford it. Which includes supporting herself while in school.

I am probably in the minority but I don't feel it is my responsibility to support my kids for every hair brained scheme they can think of. If they have a good job and willingly give it up they better have a plan on how they are going to get by.

Pets to People · Jul 10, 2012

Wow, there was so much horrible advice on here that I decided not even to address each indiviidual, but to focus on what I would like to tell you.

I have great news for you, but you will still need to take this information and consider your options very carefully.

I am a registered Veterinary Technician and I worked in various areas of the field for over ten years of my life. Yes, it is a 2 yr program, but you should be able to transfer credits for pretty much the entire first year of studies, except possibly the two semesters of chemistry, which are not a part of the typical ADN curriculum. You should have no problem getting accepted into the Vet Tech program; the only thing that I strongly feel with help with your acceptance (and your overall decision) is to volunteer at a local vet hospital. Most are very open to volunteers. This will give you an idea of what it will be like, and show the school you plan to apply to that you are serious about this undertaking.

None of your nursing classes will transfer into the second year of VT school, and they cannot be tested out of, but don't worry, your nursing experience will give you a huge advantage, you will love them (cause they are a lot of fun!), and they will be vital in preparing you for switching from working with humans, to working with pets (through their humans lol).

What everyone on here failed to mention, is that when you quit nursing, your degree doesn't just evaporate into thin air for crying out loud. I am not sure what is required to maintain your license, but darn sure you do what you need to do to keep up with it. Then it will always be there for you to fall back on, whether you want to work part-time in each field, or some day decide to return to nursing.

I am curious about your student loan bills, or other bills you will have will in VT school. You may find it difficult to work more than part-time while in the second year of the program.

Money is not everything, and for anyone who thinks that you cannot live off of a $15/hr salary is quite delusional. Now keep in mind, that there are many different areas in which you can work, and your pay will vary with each. I made as much as $20/hr, and I know of Vet Techs that made upwards of $25/hr, although this is not entirely common and can depend on where you live. I was a single mother and was able to live quite well on my salary, I had a vehicle, lived in a nice apartment in a very nice area, could afford to eat out and buy my children clothes, etc. It's more how you want to live and how you balance your money. If you want to have the hottest, coolest new phone, or make big payments on a cool car, or have several kids or so forth, sure, you will find life pretty impossible. However, if you are single, do not have a lot of bills that will follow you through Vet Tech school and after, are willing to start back at the new grad bottom and willing to work your way up, do not have several children, then this change in your career direction can certainly be a possibility.

Now, as for your stress level, you need a change and you need a change quick. You can try to switch fields, which could be a good idea as a place to start...you can find a different job, and this may work, however, from what we all read on here, it seems most nurses are unhappy no matter where they are in the nursing field.

If this does not work, then find out how to maintain your nursing license, either quit, go part-time or whatever you need to do to start this journey, get all your personal matters (moving and so forth) in order, find a vet hosp to volunteer for and start taking pre-vet tech classes.

Now, as for working as a vet tech. I absolutely loved my job and I loved the animals...you will find ways to best deal with the owners, because you have to get through them in order to get the best care for your little furry patients. The environment, the co-workers, the humans and pets, the medicine and so forth, are very similar to working in the human nursing field, just a lot less stressful. There aren't as many rules, as much politics, there is better relation ships with the doctors, you may not always get lunch breaks, but you can always have snacks, you can go to the potty whenever you want, they pay for your continueing education (those trips are so fun!), no red tape, you will know who your boss is, he/she is the owner and you will see them face to face everyday. And if you think something needs to be improved/changed, they are usually open to discussion.

And absolutely you can move up. You will start at the bottom at the vet hospital, and will have to prove yourself to get first assist scrub in surgery privalages, to perform anesthesia, do dental cleanings, care for ICU patients...you can even learn how to do abcess drainage, suturing, bandaging and so forth. In addition to that, once you have gained experience, you can move up by switching over to a higher acuity facility, such as a big ER/ICU or even up to a research facility, if that is your thing.

Yes, euthanasias are a part of the field, but the only places where I have seen this pushed onto the vet techs is places where you would not want to work anyhow. It should be done, and almost always is, with the vet and a vet tech present along with the family, if they wish to be there. It can be heart breaking, but most times it is necessary, and you will have an amazing role as being the person able to be present to comfort the family, comfort the pet and help the vet to be able to make the process as quick and painless as possible. Most of my co-workers steered away from the euthanasia patients but sought them out, because I was good at doing what I just mentioned. I found it to be very fullfilling, I know that sounds odd, but I could help to bring stressless sleep to a suffering pet, and comfort to a family losing a dear friend.

Yes you will get scratched, jumped on, drooled on, bled on, sometimes even bit, if your not fast enough lol. Sometimes you will have to deal with difficult clients/owners. But these are issues you deal with in the nursing field, however, pet owners have no where near the entitlement nature that is the bane of nursing, are no where near as difficult to work with as your human patients and their families, if they give you too much trouble, the vet will kick their butts out and you can never really get mad when a pet gets you somehow. They are all flight or fight, there is no anger or hate or meaness behind it...they are scared, you are hurting them and they are fighting for their lives, or so they think. They are not all bad...I have had some that had the tinest boo boo yet they try to rip your face off, or for example, I had a golden retriever hit by a car with a broken leg and pelvis, yet as we positioned him for several different x-ray views, he just whimpered and licked our hands, despite the agony he was in. The majority are easy to deal with and are in and out, like patients at a primary physicians office, just getting a sick check up or vaccines.

You may have trouble finding a job due to the economy; vet hospitals are privately owned small buisinesses after all. You can feel out your area while you search for a place to voluteer. Insurance is not often provided by vets, but this may be changing with the Obamacare thing. And if it is not provided, you will not be likely to afford it yourself.

You can drop to part-time (while also maybe switching to a different area of nursing) and work as a vet assistant, for around $8-9/hr. I know this isn't much, but you will get a break from your stressful life, still stay where you live now and see if you like working in the veterinary field. Just another idea....you don't have to have a degree or certificate to work as a vet assistant, you will do a little more of the grunt work and many places still allow you to train up to do a lot of the work that a vet tech does.

I left that field because I had reached a burn out point after a decade. I was bored and felt that I had learned most of what I could, there was no insurance, no vacation days, no paid sick days, basically no employment benefits. I felt that I needed more of a challenge, higher standards, higher patient acuity, more excitement, health insurance, employment benefits, opportunity for higher education and so on...whether or not I will regret having left that field, I do not know, but I am sure I will find happiness, it is after all, what we make of it. Plus, I will always have my license, so I can go back anytime I choose, either to volunteer or to work full or part-time.

As a vet tech you can work with horses, cows and other farm animals, at an aquarium (maybe), at a zoo (very competetive, you may have to move for that one), research/universities, pharmaceuticals/sales rep (make lots of commision!), as a teacher in a vet tech program (may need a little additional education, maybe not, and sometimes they let you obtain that while you work as a teacher), in small animal (cats and dogs), with exotics (birds, lizards, rodents), emergency, ICU, in wildlife sanctuaries (also rare, but possible) such as will sea turtles, seals, as a manager and so on, there are even specialty certificates you can obtain, in dentistry, anesthesia and some others, although they may not impact your pay, it will depend on where you are. I am sure I am forgetting a few, but there are many, many possibilites out there.

Sorry this is so long...I hope you keep us posted on your decision, I wish you luck!

ToughingItOut · Jul 10, 2012

I always think about going the vet tech route, but, yes, the salary is deplorable. Especially for the two-year, and usually very expensive degree/certification route. Honestly, I grew up around a lot of vets and they personally think that going to a two year vet program is just plain dumb - they wonder why anyone would go into debt to end up making $12-15/hour. While I am sure that you can learn a lot of valuable and necessary information in such a program, A LOT lot of vets will hire and train "the right candidate" without such a certification. For example, I would say about 1/4 of my nursing school class once worked as vet techs, and none of them went to a fancy program - their vets just liked them, hired them, and trained them. One such classmates even worked at a world-class veternary surgical center (she's now an OR nurse).

Personally, I think one of the reasons that I ended up in NICU was because taking care of all those tiny, helpless preemies was the closest I could get to taking care of sick kittens and puppies. And, like animals, babies can't talk...but you do still have to learn their language. It's also a detail-oriented field of nursing involving total patient care. I've also noticed that a lot of the NICU nurses I work with first fell in love with taking care of animals and somehow found their way to NICU. The stress can be very high in a Level III NICU, but I just recently floated to a level II and it was quite pleasant! Cute babies learning how to eat and grow! :) Does that sound at all intriguing to you?

And, as other have already said, I think it would be ideal to keep your foot in the door when it comes to nursing no matter what you decide. Definitely keep up your license. Have you thought about getting a set schedule at work and volunteering at the ASPCA or other animal shelter? They teach their volunteers how to do a lot! Meanwhile, one of my vets was previously a nurse practitioner and ended up going back to school for her DVM. I think that's really awesome. Vet school can be outrageously competitive, but maybe you should look into it!? Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

runforfun · Jul 10, 2012

I say don't do it. I agree with the posters who say find a specialty that may be considered less demanding. Find a job with M-F hours in a small clinic or private office. Go back to school and put yourself behind a desk, or start teaching students to cope with the stress of nursing.

I was working as a vet tech before I started nursing school, just quit this past May. Being a vet tech is physically demanding, and can be stressful as well. You will be lifting anything from 2-100 pounds...and that's just in a small animal clinic. Also, don't depend on starting at $15/hour because it's likely that you won't. Also, not all clinics offer health insurance or much in the way of benefits. The job is thankless, a lot of pet owners will be angry with you for holding/restraining or trying to muzzle their pet (as they try to bit your face off). Often by the time the owners allow you to do anything, the only option is sedation. Then, if a pet is extremely worked up, sedation may not take effect until later-they will call and blame you for their pet "acting funny" when they get home. Oh, and they will be back within the next couple of weeks to repeat the who scenario. You will see things you don't want to see. People will bring their pets in to have them put down simply because they don't want them any more. You will put litters of puppies to sleep because the "breeders" could not afford to vaccinate them and they all got parvo-likely some of them will be pre-symptomatic and will wag their tails right until the bitter end. I say go for something in nursing that you can see yourself doing, and volunteer at an animal shelter or get a dog or cat-they really can be great stress relievers to come home to :)

That said, some positives. You can start without having earned a vet tech degree or license. Don't expect your nursing background to help you get a job, but do expect it to help you get acclimated in the clinic. Many of the medicines used are the same (though beware, they aren't all used for the same purpose), and you will probably be really good at drawing doggie blood. There will pretty much always be something sweet and fluffy for you to love on for a minute if you are having a bad day (that was my saving grace, i hated being a vet tech, but loved the snuggles). You will likely get reduced fees for your vet care, so if you don't have a dog, you might as well get one! If it is really what you want to do, there is no reason not to. You can likely stat working, then work toward certification while employed-I think there are even online programs.

No matter what you decide, do what you think will make you the most happy in the end. Realistically, a vet tech salary is livable, but you will probably have to make some lifestyle changes from what you are currently used to. Good luck!

Circejane · Jul 10, 2012

As a frame of reference for pay and location, I was making $15/hour in Minneapolis in 2002 as a vet tech. In 2005 I was working in SE Mich and making $13 at a bigger, fancier hospital and 24 hour Emergency Vet/Surgical Center. When I moved to Northern MI in 2007, I was offered $12/hr as a vet tech. Since I was going to nursing school at the time, I took an $11/hr job as a CNA, since it was close in pay, worked better with my school schedule, and gave me direct patient experience. I started working there as an RN the day after I passed my NCLEX.

If you are in a large city with teaching hospitals and research facilities, the upward mobility as a VT that another poster spoke of MAY exist for you (although we never had first assists in OR, it was just those of us who knew what we were doing in there). Pay generally scales with experience, but there IS a cap.

There are many wonderful things about being a vet tech. I quit after more than a decade due to burn out, and there is a great deal of burnout in the field. Great people to work with, heartwarming stories as well as sad. That said, unless you work in a very sheltered environment, you'll see things that will keep you up at night.

sauconyrunner · Jul 10, 2012

Petstopeople made a statement that "When you leave nursing your license does not just disappear" This is true, BUT with a caveat. Once you stop having any kind of recent experience, you become about as hire-able as a new Graduate Nurse, possibly less hire-able.

I really think the first thing to do would be to get help- get the anxiety under control. Thing about anxiety is that it makes us a bit irrational, and our first instinct is to make ourselves comfortable. We do not like feeling uncomfortable- so we work like heck to remove that feeling. Once you are able to get to work without all the dread and stomach aches (you have said you like your job, so why all the stomach aches?) you will be in a better position to make a choice.

Then think about what would make you happy- when you are not in a place of gripping anxiety. I really did not love Bedside nursing (And I switched about 3 months ago) but I found it only occurred for 36 hours a week. After that on 4 days, I was completely able to do whatever I wanted. It was definitely a means to an end...

And I will say, I really think if you must go back to living with your parents- think twice about doing it that way. Your parents are people and not simply your parents. If they said they were coming to live with you for two years- how would you feel?

AmyinNC05 · Jul 10, 2012

I would recommend as someone else did that you get to the underlying reason for your anxiety. Having struggled with anxiety myself, I do understand where you are coming from. Just because you decide to go to vet school doesn't mean that anxiety still won't be there later on, and you don't want that happening no matter what job you have. I would address that first with a doctor, continue nursing for a while and see what happens if the dr. advises meds.

emilysmom,RN · Jul 10, 2012

I worked as a vet tech for 10 years before becoming a RN. The most I made was 13.50/ hour. I know your anxiety issues. I have tried two years in med/surg and two years in home health now I am trying ALF assistant director. The wonderful thing about nursing there are many different fields. No such thing as a perfect job. God luck.