Shawn McVey's two cents

A $70,000 salary is possible on the coasts if you add in a tremendous amount of overtime and consider the entire compensation package. I'd say that aspiring to $50,000 is more realistic for the typical veterinary technician, but even that number would be above the mean. Until our profession understands that, at its very core, it has undervalued its services and contribution to the community, we'll never get past the pay hurdle.

As for recession proof, I think veterinary services are among the last to be cut from household budgets-but that's for pet lovers. Moving average pet owners into above-average clients has driven our industry's growth. To continue that trend, we'll need to up the performance level of everyone in the profession.

Shawn McVey, MA, MSW

CEO, Innovative Veterinary Management Solutions