Veterinary Technician in captivity

Here I sit at my desk in a cube farm on the second story of a cool brick building in Ballard. This marks the end of my second month as Claims Specialist for a Pet Insurance Company. I have worked as a Veterinary Technician for the longest of all my career choices, 11 years. I am a credentialed (Licensed in my state) Veterinary Technologist, which means I have a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine. One of the things I loved about it is that not every day was the same, at least for the most part. The national average for Vet Tech burn out is 5-10 years the fact that I last this long is awesome. I suspect the most common reason for burnout is compassion fatigue. This was not the case for me, I was working for a large corporation that likes to hire young veterinarians. It was really good pay and good health insurance, which is big in my field. I liked the personalities of the Veterinarians I worked with, for the most part. However sometimes their medicine scared me, their apathy appalled me. Add this to the normal day’s work where clients don’t understand what we do, why it takes so much money and that we don’t just sit around and kiss and hug puppies all day. I needed out, I wanted a new job but wanted to keep in the same field but different. I paid or rather am paying a lot of money for my degree and I want to still use it, I am a skilled Technician, I have seen many things, I’ve worked with a lot of doctors which is actually to my benefit. I found what I am still hoping is my dream job. It’s a desk job, it’s a 9-5 or somewhat… it’s five days a week. I have energy when I come home from work. I am happier. It was a lot to learn. But it’s getting easier every day. So this vet tech is now in captivity and enjoying not having to dodge biting or scratching parts, dealing with less than stellar medicine, and less than common sense thinking.