💡 Why it matters: Pet owners and farmers rely on vets, and vets rely on nurses to care for animals and run the practice. Trained veterinary nurses are needed in clinics, farms and animal hospitals around the world.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦800k – ₦2M
- Mid-career
- ₦2M – ₦4M
- Senior
- ₦4M – ₦8M
≈ ₦167k – ₦333k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Job Bank category: Animal health technologist. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Help vets examine and treat animals
- Give medicines and take blood samples
- Prepare animals for surgery and watch them as they wake
- Take X-rays and run lab tests
- Teach owners how to look after sick or recovering pets
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Caring for animals
- Careful hands
- Staying calm
- Communication
- Teamwork
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Work as a veterinary assistant in clinics and farms and learn on the job
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Veterinary nurse apprenticeship while working in a practice
- Start as a veterinary care assistant
🇺🇸 United States
- Work as a veterinary assistant while studying part time
🇨🇦 Canada
- Veterinary assistant work, then a technology programme
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Biology, Chemistry and English at school
- 2Volunteer or work at a vet clinic or animal shelter to see if it suits you
- 3Complete a veterinary nursing or technology programme
- 4Pass the registration or credentialing exam where required
- 5Work in a clinic, hospital, farm or lab and add a specialty
⏰ A day in the life
You start the morning by checking the animals staying overnight. You help the vet with a dog's operation, then watch its breathing as it wakes up. Later you show a family how to give their cat its medicine and book a check-up.