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Veterinary Technician Career Interview
Joel Pond is a veterinary technician at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, and he has worked in the field for 31 years. He is also the executive director of the Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians.
Veterinary Technician Career Path
Joel fell into this profession, but soon grew to love it.
“I became involved with the Lincoln Park zoo in my sophomore year of high school when I started volunteering as a part-time zoo veterinary assistant,” he explains.
“After I graduated from college, the zoo built a hospital, and they needed a veterinary technician to staff it. I was their choice provided that I become a certified vet tech. I took the certification test and passed, and that was 31 years ago.”
Veterinary Technician Experiences
Joel earned his Bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University in Chicago.
He volunteered and worked at the Lincoln Park Zoo for 11 years as a veterinary assistant before becoming the zoo’s first certified veterinary technician, and he still holds that job today.
Joel has also worked part-time for a local emergency veterinary practice, where he became certified as a paramedic, and he worked part-time at a regional veterinary clinical pathology laboratory as a hematology supervisor for over 15 years. Joel is a consultant to Idexx Veterinary Services in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Joel has also served in several veterinary technician organizational boards in Illinois, and he helped to create the Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians where is the current executive director.
Veterinary Technician Degree Programs
“Most zoos and aquariums require a minimum of an Associate’s degree in veterinary technology or licensing,” Joel explains. “Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degrees in related or allied fields are encouraged.”
Veterinary Technician Job Description
As a zoo veterinary technician, Joel is responsible for maintaining and cleaning the veterinary equipment, performing routine laboratory tests, filling and compounding prescriptions, taking and developing radiographs, administering and maintaining anesthesia on animals from elephants to shrews.
“While most vet techs deal with relatively few species of animals on a day-to-day basis, zoo vet techs have many more species with which to become familiar,” says Joel.
“We learn where to obtain blood and urine samples from these various and often dangerous animals. We also run the lab tests on all species, maintain medical records, and sometimes assist in surgery and operate sophisticated equipment.”
Veterinary Technician Daily Routine
Since Joel must work with so many different animals with so many different needs, there’s no such thing as a “normal day” for him.
“Surgeries or immobilizations for routine physical exams tend to be performed in the mornings with maintenance and record keeping taking place in the afternoon,” Joel explains.
“Zoo vet techs may participate in operant conditioning or training of animals, do research and reports, participate or perform safety training or provide continuing education opportunities for the zoo staff or allied health professionals.”
“And we do a lot of cleaning and maintenance,” he adds.
Veterinary Technician: Steps to Success
Veterinary technicians must be resourceful, inquisitive, open-minded, communicative, inventive, adaptable, and always have a passion for learning.
“Veterinary medicine is a dynamic field, even more so in the zoo and aquarium fields,” says Joel.
Veterinary Technician Job Opportunities
“The zoo vet tech field is harder to get into because there are limited jobs around the country, and most zoo techs really enjoy their jobs so they tend to stay put longer,” Joel explains.
“That said, there is almost always an opening in a zoo somewhere in the U.S. all the time,” he continues. “You must be willing to re-locate. And zoos do hire people without exotic animal experience. Perseverance does pay off sometimes.”
Veterinary Technician Favorite Aspect
Joel enjoys the constant learning that comes with working as a vet tech at a zoo.
Veterinary Technician’s Future Ambitions
“My hopes for the future of this career is for zoo veterinarian technicians to become a recognized specialty,” says Joel. “That is something that is currently in the works.”
Advice for Prospective Veterinary Technicians
Anyone interested in becoming a veterinary technician should pursue every opportunity to gain experience in the field.
“Volunteer for a wildlife rehab center,” Joel advises. “Learn and understand basic clinical pathology skills, as those are utilized in zoos to a much greater degree than in private practice. Be willing to relocate in order to obtain a job in a zoo.”
Veterinary technicians should also seek out as much new information as possible about their field.
“You will learn something new everyday, and you have to adapt your school knowledge to animals that have different physiologies and specialized anatomies,” says Joel.
