Clinical trial career options for veterinary technicians

According to a 2020 American Animal Hospital Association article, the estimated average career length for a veterinary technician is about 7 years.¹ Salary, burnout, and the job’s physical demands all contribute to technicians deciding to leave the profession, yet advancement is often limited to management or administrative roles. I asked myself what came next many times during my more than 20 years as a certified veterinary technician. I never expected a casual conversation at work to lead me to an entirely new career in veterinary clinical trials.

Like many in the profession, I began as a technician in general practice while attending Harcum College’s veterinary technician program. However, the most valuable learning came during my practicum at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital. I was terrified walking into my first overnight intensive care unit (ICU) shift, but I left knowing I wanted to pursue specialty medicine. For the first time, I saw what advanced veterinary care could offer and how new techniques and treatments were continually being developed.

After graduation, I received a call from an oncology clinic asking whether I was interested in a position. I almost didn’t apply because oncology had seemed so depressing when we covered it in school, but I decided to give it a chance, and it ended up changing my career direction.

Later, I accepted a position in the emergency department and ICU at Hope Veterinary Specialists (now BluePearl Pet Hospital) in Malvern, Pennsylvania. When the hospital expanded and added oncology, I helped build the department with our new oncologist, Craig Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology). This was also where I first became involved in clinical trials. I found them interesting, but I quickly realized that they were a lot of work and required close attention to detail.

Clifford became a mentor to me in both oncology and clinical research. He emphasized capturing data accurately and in real time and submitting records, results, invoices, and other study materials on time. I learned about Good Clinical Practice and saw firsthand the opportunities that clinical trials offer to owners who may not have any other options, whether because of financial constraints or because no other treatments are available.

Over the next decade, I worked on more than 50 clinical trials in varying roles. I watched some drugs fail and others go on to receive full approval. At conferences, I always looked for presentations on new oncology treatments and often realized I had already had a chance to work with them.

Although I stayed in clinical practice far longer than average, by 2021 I no longer wanted to work as a clinical nurse. I moved into an administrative position as an oncology patient care coordinator and clinical trial liaison. I appreciated that my department created the role, but I soon recognized that I had reached the limit of my advancement as a veterinary nurse. Even after earning my veterinary technician specialist certification in oncology in 2018, few opportunities remained. I needed to decide what came next.

During a trial closeout visit, I asked the monitor what someone with my background would need to do to get a job like hers. Her answer surprised me: my experience could be enough. I began applying for clinical research associate positions and, less than a year later, accepted a role with Argenta Global, an animal health and nutrition contract research, development, and manufacturing organization.

For the past 2 years, I have worked at Argenta on veterinary clinical trials for a range of sponsors. As a monitor, I train study sites before trials begin and review collected data to confirm that they are accurate, complete, clear, and well documented. This role lets me work primarily from home while continuing to collaborate with veterinary professionals and apply the clinical knowledge I developed over 2 decades.

If you are asking yourself what comes next in your veterinary career, consider clinical research. It lets you stay in veterinary medicine, support the development of new treatments, and use your experience without the same physical and emotional demands as hospital work. For me, it was not leaving veterinary medicine; it was finding another way to contribute.

References

1. Hawn R. The Veterinary Nurse Initiative: the crux of the debate. American Animal Hospital Association. May 1, 2020. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://www.aaha.org/trends-magazine/publications/the-veterinary-nurse-initiative/