Online Schools to Become a Vet Tech
Many people have a passion to work with animals as a career, but being accepted into a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program is very difficult. Many schools can only take about 200 students at a time because of space limitations and few veterinary professors. An alternative is to become a veterinary technician or veterinary assistant. Currently nine accredited schools offer online-based programs to attract more students to the study of veterinary technology.
Schools
While no universities offer veterinary courses online, there are nine schools that are accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association to teach an online veterinary technician program:
* Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave, Virginia
* Cedar Valley College, Lancaster, Texas
* Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, Alabama
* Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
* Northern Virginia Community College, Sterling, Virginia
* Penn Foster College, Scottsdale, Arizona
* Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
* St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Florida
* San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico
How It Works
The schools offer the same coursework over the internet as they would in person, except students must work at a veterinary clinic at home or figure out another way to attend the clinical aspects of the course. This program is for people who can be independent and keep a log of all the hours they do during the clinical portions.
Tuition
The price of an online veterinary technician degree is similar to the cost of other undergraduate programs at in-person schools. The financial benefits, though, are that students can still work full-time and do the classwork on their own time, and there is no need to pay to live on campus. These can be substantial savings over the course of an undergraduate degree.
Employment
The small number of students who apply and are accepted to veterinary technician programs, coupled with a rising need in the animal sciences area, make this degree program very attractive and almost recession-proof. According to statistics by the United States Labor Department, students with this degree have one of the highest employment rates fresh out of college compared with other fields.
Materials Needed
Students will still need to purchase all textbooks and CD's that go with the classes. A newer computer with a high-speed internet connection is a valuable resource. Just as with traditional classes, for every hour in a lecture, the student can expect another hour of studying or homework, so be prepared for a long time commitment.
Tags: veterinary technician, Community College, Become Tech, Online Schools, Online Schools Become