• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Upcoming dvm360 Conferences
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
Veterinary Heroes
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Perfecting team pay

August 1, 2006
Veterinary Economics Staff

Are you paying your team too little, too much, or just about right given your location and their experience?

LESS THAN 10 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS to an April 2005 VetMedTeam.com survey indicate that they earned a wage that was enough to provide adequate financial support for a family. Just over 25 percent made enough to support themselves. And more than 60 percent indicate that based on living expenses without excessive spending on luxury items, their salary isn't enough to allow them to live a financially stress-free life.

Of course, team members' pay depends on their experience, your practice type, and location, among other things. But if you constantly lose quality team members to better-paying practices, you may need to adjust your pay scale.

Trends

Veterinary assistants with fewer than three years of experience earned 14 percent to 18 percent higher wages than when surveyed in 2002, according to the 2006 Well-Managed Practice Study conducted by Wutchiett Tumblin and Associates and Veterinary Economics. And those with six or more years of experience saw an 18 percent to 27 percent increase. These were the most distinguished increases in staff wages in the last four years.

Figure 1

"We attribute this change to the expanding role of veterinary assistants in practice and recognition among owners of Well-Managed Practices that they need to offer fair-market wages to attract and keep the best and brightest employees," says study administrator Denise Tumblin, CPA, president of Wutchiett Tumblin and Associates in Columbus, Ohio.

Advertisement

Location

The top-paying states for technologists and technicians are Alaska, Connecticut, California, Michigan, and New Mexico, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Top-paying metro areas are San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.; Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.; San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.; and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.

Figure 2

Technicians in the metro area of San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, make an average of $18.39 per hour, or $38,250 annually, while the national average is $12.84 per hour, or $26,710 annually. So it's easy to see that practice location affects team pay.

More than half of technicians in the lower Midwest, east of the Mississippi, are paid less than $10 per hour. According to the Wheretechsconnect.com 2004-2005 Vet Tech Salary Survey, this is a greater percentage than in any other region. However, the upper Midwest, west of the Mississippi, was the region with the greatest percentage of technicians paid more than $19 per hour with the exception of California. The greatest percentage of technicians making $11 or more per hour—90 percent—work in the upper west coast, according to the survey. (For more information on regional pay, see Figure 4.)

The concentration of qualified workers in an area may also affect their pay. The five metro areas with the highest concentration of veterinary technicians are College Station-Bryan, Texas; Gainesville, Fla.; Fort Collins-Loveland Colo.; Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, Fla.; and Durham, N.C., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Figure 3

In College Station-Bryan, Texas, the metropolitan area with the greatest concentration of veterinary technicians, the average hourly wage is only $8.04, or $16,720 annually.

Experience

According to AAHA's Compensation and Benefits released in 2006, the staff member position with the greatest percentage increase in pay between the least experienced and most experienced employees were receptionists; the more experienced receptionists made 39 percent more an hour—or $3.53.

Figure 4

Office managers saw the smallest percentage increase between levels of experience in the AAHA study, 20 percent or a difference of $2.74 per hour.

The average difference in pay between the most experienced and least experienced team members in the office manager, head technician/technician manager, registered technician, nonregistered/noncertified technician, head receptionist/reception manager, reception, and veterinary assistant positions is $3.14 per hour, according to the data. (See Figure 2).

Editors' note: Find more on team pay in "Does Your Revenue Carry Your Team" on this issue and "Reality Check: The True Cost of Living" on this issue.

Quick fact

Related Content:

Owners
Build your first veterinary hospital
Build your first veterinary hospital
Increasing efficiency and productivity in uncertain times
Increasing efficiency and productivity in uncertain times
Reduce your veterinary teams’ stress with financial wellness
Reduce your veterinary teams’ stress with financial wellness

Advertisement

Latest News

What's new with the "Dentistry Lane" across the veterinary profession?

Meet the BlackDVM Network

Study finds certain canine breeds should be screened for cancer at young ages

AVMA releases 2 videos informing pet parents on pet dental care

View More Latest News
Advertisement