Veterinary assistants rate their happiness above average.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, veterinary assistants rate their career happiness 3.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 30% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy veterinary assistants are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Dog walker
3.7
$2k
Wildlife enforcement officer
3.6
$56k
Animal scientist
3.5
$58k
Veterinary assistant
3.5
$10k
Veterinary technologist
3.4
$19k
Kennel technician
3.4
$12k
Animal control worker
3.4
$11k
Dog groomer
3.2
$32k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are veterinary assistants happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do veterinary assistants find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as veterinary assistants?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are veterinary assistant’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are veterinary assistants making the best use of their abilities?

Are veterinary assistants happy with their salary?

Veterinary assistants rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.7/5. Veterinary assistants tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked veterinary assistants how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.7 out of 5 stars

1451 veterinary assistants

5 Star
10%

10% of veterinary assistants rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
16%

16% of veterinary assistants rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of veterinary assistants rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of veterinary assistants rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
22%

22% of veterinary assistants rated their compensation 1 stars

Do veterinary assistants find their jobs meaningful?

On average, veterinary assistants rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.6/5. Unlike many careers, veterinary assistants have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become veterinary assistants.

We asked veterinary assistants how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

1461 veterinary assistants

5 Star
27%

27% of veterinary assistants rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of veterinary assistants rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of veterinary assistants rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of veterinary assistants rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of veterinary assistants rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as veterinary assistants?

Veterinary assistants rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.1/5. The majority of veterinary assistants find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked veterinary assistants how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

1582 veterinary assistants

5 Star
40%

40% of veterinary assistants rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
36%

36% of veterinary assistants rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of veterinary assistants rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of veterinary assistants rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of veterinary assistants rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a veterinary assistant’s work environment?

As a whole, veterinary assistants rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of veterinary assistants enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a veterinary assistant.

We asked veterinary assistants how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.7 out of 5 stars

1574 veterinary assistants

5 Star
29%

29% of veterinary assistants rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of veterinary assistants rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of veterinary assistants rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
11%

11% of veterinary assistants rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of veterinary assistants rated their work environment 1 stars

Are veterinary assistants making the best use of their abilities?

Former veterinary assistants on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.4/5. Most veterinary assistants are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked veterinary assistants how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

1577 veterinary assistants

5 Star
21%

21% of veterinary assistants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of veterinary assistants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of veterinary assistants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of veterinary assistants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of veterinary assistants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars