Animal Behavior College

[cellowars]

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I'm thinking about going to Animal Behavior College to become a veterinary assistant. Is this a reputable school that will help me get into a good career?

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[MDB74]

Huh? School to become a vet assistant?

 

[cellowars]

Huh? School to become a vet assistant?

Yep! You need to have a certificate to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S. I'm not talking about just cleaning cages and stuff. I'm talking about assisting with x-rays, helping move an animal, taking samples for lab analysis, giving medications, administering medications, clipping nails, that sort of thing.

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[TrashPanda]

Yep! You need to have a certificate to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S. I'm not talking about just cleaning cages and stuff. I'm talking about assisting with x-rays, helping move an animal, taking samples for lab analysis, giving medications, administering medications, clipping nails, that sort of thing.

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You do not need any kind of certificate to be a veterinary assistant in the US. You don't even need formal education to be a veterinary technician in many areas.

Do you have any experience with animals? If so, you can apply for veterinary assistant jobs now. If not, get some experience by working as a kennel attendant first, or volunteer with a shelter or animal rescue group. Look for jobs in vet clinics, pet stores, doggy daycares, shelters, boarding facilities, etc. For a lot of jobs, you can start at the bottom with an entry-level job and work your way up fairly quickly.

What is your end goal? Veterinary assistants do not get paid much, so I'm guessing that's not your long-term career goal. Do you want to be a veterinarian? A veterinary technician?

 

[MDB74]

Yep! You need to have a certificate to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S. I'm not talking about just cleaning cages and stuff. I'm talking about assisting with x-rays, helping move an animal, taking samples for lab analysis, giving medications, administering medications, clipping nails, that sort of thing.

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Lol no. What assistants (compared to techs) are allowed to do can vary by state and a couple, like NY, have some stricter rules that restrict assistants. The vast majority do not. When I was an assistant I did everything you listed and a lot more. In my opinion, if you want to be a tech go to tech school. If you want to be a vet go to vet school. If you want to be an assistant just get a job and learn on the job. An assistant certificate sounds like a scam.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I'm thinking about going to Animal Behavior College to become a veterinary assistant. Is this a reputable school that will help me get into a good career?

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Are you talking about this?

http://www.animalbehaviorcollege.com/

$3,000 to $5,000 for a useless certificate for something you don't even need a certificate to do?

Looks like a big scam to me.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Lol no. What assistants (compared to techs) are allowed to do can vary by state and a couple, like NY, have some stricter rules that restrict assistants. The vast majority do not. When I was an assistant I did everything you listed and a lot more. In my opinion, if you want to be a tech go to tech school. If you want to be a vet go to vet school. If you want to be an assistant just get a job and learn on the job. An assistant certificate sounds like a scam.

Well said. I would also add that you should go to tech school if you want to be an actual LVT. There are also unlicensed technicians who learned on the job as well - and they fantastic techs as well. The only downside is that being unlicensed *may* affect your job prospects in certain areas where LVTs are preferred.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

There is a 6 month $10,000 assistant course that a few people I know up here have gone to. I have yet to hear a single person say it was worth it. Everyone I have ever talked to (vet, tech, or assistant) says it is simply a waste of money.

As n=1, learning on the job suited me perfectly fine. Assistants don't get paid enough to warrant the cost either, IMO.

 

[cellowars]

There is a 6 month $10,000 assistant course that a few people I know up here have gone to. I have yet to hear a single person say it was worth it. Everyone I have ever talked to (vet, tech, or assistant) says it is simply a waste of money.

As n=1, learning on the job suited me perfectly fine. Assistants don't get paid enough to warrant the cost either, IMO.

Huh. ABC's program is only $3,000-$6,000, depending on how long it takes you to complete it.

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[cellowars]

There is a 6 month $10,000 assistant course that a few people I know up here have gone to. I have yet to hear a single person say it was worth it. Everyone I have ever talked to (vet, tech, or assistant) says it is simply a waste of money.

As n=1, learning on the job suited me perfectly fine. Assistants don't get paid enough to warrant the cost either, IMO.

It also has a 90-hour externship.

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[TrashPanda]

Huh. ABC's program is only $3,000-$6,000, depending on how long it takes you to complete it.

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Even if it's "only" $3,000, that's still $3,000 more than you need to spend on a veterinary assistant program.

 

[cellowars]

Even if it's "only" $3,000, that's still $3,000 more than you need to spend on a veterinary assistant program.

Well, you do have to be legally certified to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S, do you not?

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[TrashPanda]

Well, you do have to be legally certified to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S, do you not?

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No, you do not.

 

[cellowars]

Okay, well, wouldn't it make it easier to find a job?

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[cellowars]

No, you do not.

I just looked it up on study.com, and it said that a professional license was required in all 50 states.

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[TrashPanda]

Okay, well, wouldn't it make it easier to find a job?

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It's a waste of money. You can get plenty of experience for vet school (and be a vet assistant if you'd like) without any sort of certificate.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Okay, well, wouldn't it make it easier to find a job?

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I would lean towards nope, but even if it made it a little easier it wouldn't be $5000 easier.

If you have clinical experience (shadowing, volunteer, or paid), use that to get yourself hired. Or find a place to let you volunteer (thus training you for free) until you get a paid position.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Financially you would be putting in a large sum of money to be making very low wages (I started at barely above minimum wage), it just doesn't make sense. Especially since you don't need to certification in the first place.

If you are wanting to be a vet you will be taking out a ton of loans anyway. There is no point adding more money and more time to that end result.

 

[cellowars]

Financially you would be putting in a large sum of money to be making very low wages (I started at barely above minimum wage), it just doesn't make sense. Especially since you don't need to certification in the first place.

If you are wanting to be a vet you will be taking out a ton of loans anyway. There is no point adding more money and more time to that end result.

Something I didn't mention is that I have a Pell Grant waiting for me, which would cover most, if not all of my school expenses. Secondly, I looked it up on study.com, and it says you need to have professional license to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S.

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[cellowars]

Financially you would be putting in a large sum of money to be making very low wages (I started at barely above minimum wage), it just doesn't make sense. Especially since you don't need to certification in the first place.

If you are wanting to be a vet you will be taking out a ton of loans anyway. There is no point adding more money and more time to that end result.

To be clear, I don't want to be a vet. I just want to be an assistant.

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[flameshock]

Something I didn't mention is that I have a Pell Grant waiting for me, which would cover most, if not all of my school expenses. Secondly, I looked it up on study.com, and it says you need to have professional license to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S.

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This is not correct.

Working as an assistant does not require certification. Seriously, this screams waste of money.

Working as a REGISTERED veterinary technician requires completion of an accredited program and passing the VTNE. This position requires a license. But as others have mentioned, what vet assistants can do and only RVTs can do varies significantly state by state. So depending on where you live, you may be able to perform your stated goals as a non-registered veterinary technician.

I am not trying to be rude, but study.com is not a site you should use to form arguments about job markets. If you choose to start there, make sure you double check that info on other reputable, vet-med specific websites.

 

[TrashPanda]

I just looked it up on study.com, and it said that a professional license was required in all 50 states.

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Others have already addressed this, but no, as many of us have already said, it is not required and that is not a good source of information. Generally speaking, if someone is trying to sell you something, it's best to double-check their information with an independent source.

To be clear, I don't want to be a vet. I just want to be an assistant.

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If you want to do the tasks you mentioned (medicating, etc.) why not become a veterinary technician? The pay is still low, but it is significantly higher than a veterinary assistant's salary and you'd get to do more. Paying for a certificate to be a vet assistant does not make sense, but becoming a registered veterinary technician (RVT) and getting the education necessary to do so could be a good choice for you.

 

[cellowars]

Others have already addressed this, but no, as many of us have already said, it is not required and that is not a good source of information. Generally speaking, if someone is trying to sell you something, it's best to double-check their information with an independent source.



If you want to do the tasks you mentioned (medicating, etc.) why not become a veterinary technician? The pay is still low, but it is significantly higher than a veterinary assistant's salary and you'd get to do more. Paying for a certificate to be a vet assistant does not make sense, but becoming a registered veterinary technician (RVT) and getting the education necessary to do so could be a good choice for you.

I have looked into a vet tech program at a community college near me, and there are a few disadvantages of that program for me. One being the cost ($40,000 for two years at last check), two being the credit load (17 per quarter), and three being that I would need a lot of assistance with keeping up because I have a condition that affects my learning process.

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[TrashPanda]

I have looked into a vet tech program at a community college near me, and there are a few disadvantages of that program for me. One being the cost ($40,000 for two years at last check), two being the credit load (17 per quarter), and three being that I would need a lot of assistance with keeping up because I have a condition that affects my learning process.

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Sounds like getting any experience with animals you can and working your way up to vet assistant and then tech is the best bet. If you do live in an area where RVTs are heavily favored, you can always deal with the educational requirements later.

 

[MDB74]

I mean, I'm not a practice manager so I can't say with 100% certainty that this certificate won't help with job prospects but I would lean very heavily towards it being totally useless. Practice managers I've worked for are typically looking for RVTs (CVT/LVT/whatever), experienced assistants/unregistered techs, and in last case scenarios inexperienced assistants that they can pay cheaply and train on the job. My guess would be that this program is going to give you no tangible benefits over the latter group of people. My advice is to get a job and see if you like it. If you want to get your tech degree later that's always an option. Ultimately something like a 90 hour externship means nothing when you can get that training in two weeks on the job.

Also, I have no idea what study.com is but clearly they're working with some alternative facts.

 

[pp9]

Okay, well, wouldn't it make it easier to find a job?

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No, it will not give you a leg up when job hunting whatsoever. Most vets I know chuckle or get angry when they see a 'formal' certificate from a veterinary assistant program because it's honestly a ridiculous way for these online schools to take your money, and worried pre-vets do these programs because they've been mislead. Not to mention that I've known ABC students who did their externship at a clinic I worked at and they needed as much training as a vet assistant with no previous experience, so that tells me it's not a quality program anyways. Online courses =/= real on the job training IMO, at least not always, especially in situations like this.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I just looked it up on study.com, and it said that a professional license was required in all 50 states.

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This is 100% incorrect. Even technicians do not need to be licensed in all states (there is a difference between technicians and assistants as well, which you should recognize). I have never even heard of "study.com" and highly doubt it is a reputable source. You need to work on doing more thorough research.

Why don't you try the American Veterinary Medical Association's website.

Oh look....

https://www.avma.org/public/YourVet/Pages/techs-and-assistants.aspx

Veterinary assistants support the veterinarian and/or the veterinary technician in their daily tasks. The assistant may be asked to perform kennel work, assist in the restraint and handling of animals, feed and exercise the animals, or spend time on clerical duties. There are training programs for veterinary assistants, and some are trained on the job. At this time, there is no credentialing exam for veterinary assistants


Again: No "professional license" is required to be a veterinary assistant, and training on the job is quite common. Honestly, most employers are going to prefer hiring an assistant who has been trained in such a manner (i.e. hands-on) rather than one who paid to learn it on the internet plus a measly 90-hour internship.

Don't look for the easy way out and take for-profit online courses. Volunteer, shadow, learn - put boots on the ground, if you will.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

No, it will not give you a leg up when job hunting whatsoever. Most vets I know chuckle or get angry when they see a 'formal' certificate from a veterinary assistant program because it's honestly a ridiculous way for these online schools to take your money, and worried pre-vets do these programs because they've been mislead. Not to mention that I've known ABC students who did their externship at a clinic I worked at and they needed as much training as a vet assistant with no previous experience, so that tells me it's not a quality program anyways. Online courses =/= real on the job training IMO, at least not always, especially in situations like this.

I'm not surprised and I agree.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I have looked into a vet tech program at a community college near me, and there are a few disadvantages of that program for me. One being the cost ($40,000 for two years at last check), two being the credit load (17 per quarter), and three being that I would need a lot of assistance with keeping up because I have a condition that affects my learning process.

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This is going to make me unpopular, but if you need a "lot of assistance keeping up" with learning technical tasks (which is really want you will be learning in vet tech or assistant school) do you really think that job is a good fit for you? Will you be able to "keep up" as an actual assistant or technician? Honest question.

Online programs can't teach you hand-on tasks, they can't teach you interpersonal interaction, they can't teach you teamwork - these are all ESSENTIAL for an assistant OR a tech. You need to have good hand-eye coordination, be a good auditory and visual learner, multitasker etc. If you have an impairment significant enough that you have to choose online programs over in-person programs, can you be sure you can succeed in what is a very "in-person" type of job?

 

[AllieLane]

Honestly an animal behavior college sounds like a very weird thing to me as I study animal behavior for research. If you are interested in a vet assistant job, you can just apply for such a job and no license/certificate is required. Trust me in the clinic I shadow some assistants do not even have much animal experience when they are hired and they started with receptionist and/or kennel work. Vet tech positions may require some more expertise, but not all the vet techs I worked with had a degree from tech schools.

Also I have been studying animal behavior for some 4 or 5 years and I don't think my experience and knowledge in this field would help much in a vet assistant job. It's more about what strategy a male animal use to find a mate or why that female animal chose this male as a mate kind of thing, on wild animals. If you are only going to learn about dog or cat behaviors, it does not take a program to learn it - a course or several books could do it.

If animal behavior is what you are interested in, I would look for a college level program focusing on zoology or ecology.



Edit: I did get a vet assistant certificate through some online program, which took me about 2 weeks to complete (<30min per day in average) and cost $15. I used it when I was looking for shadow opportunities.

 

[pp9]

Honestly an animal behavior college sounds like a very weird thing to me as I study animal behavior for research. If you are interested in a vet assistant job, you can just apply for such a job and no license/certificate is required. Trust me in the clinic I shadow some assistants do not even have much animal experience when they are hired and they started with receptionist and/or kennel work. Vet tech positions may require some more expertise, but not all the vet techs I worked with had a degree from tech schools.

Also I have been studying animal behavior for some 4 or 5 years and I don't think my experience and knowledge in this field would help much in a vet assistant job. It's more about what strategy a male animal use to find a mate or why that female animal chose this male as a mate kind of thing, on wild animals. If you are only going to learn about dog or cat behaviors, it does not take a program to learn it - a course or several books could do it.

If animal behavior is what you are interested in, I would look for a college level program focusing on zoology or ecology.



Edit: I did get a vet assistant certificate through some online program, which took me about 2 weeks to complete (<30min per day in average) and cost $15. I used it when I was looking for shadow opportunities.

It has nothing to do with animal behavior in its true sense, which has always perplexed me. I just assume they picked the name for the gimmicky ABC they get with it.

 

[cellowars]

It has nothing to do with animal behavior in its true sense, which has always perplexed me. I just assume they picked the name for the gimmicky ABC they get with it.

No, that's not what I'm going for.

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[AllieLane]

It has nothing to do with animal behavior in its true sense, which has always perplexed me. I just assume they picked the name for the gimmicky ABC they get with it.

That's what it sounds like. I was trying to make the point that an "animal behavior" does not have much to do with a vet assistant job, and the whole thing sounds like it's just trying to trick people into it. This actually annoys me.

No, that's not what I'm going for.

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Then I'd say there is no point spending money on it as the program itself doesn't even seem to know what it's offering to students. Like, it calls itself A, then claims that it offers B, when you actually need C. And it tries to convince you that no, you do need B and that's what we have. I would not trust something like this as someone also mentioned earlier, it just has too many alternative facts to play with.

And I was able to get some vet assistant certificate at $15 from a program that could be completed in a couple of days.

 

[cellowars]

That's what it sounds like. I was trying to make the point that an "animal behavior" does not have much to do with a vet assistant job, and the whole thing sounds like it's just trying to trick people into it. This actually annoys me.



Then I'd say there is no point spending money on it as the program itself doesn't even seem to know what it's offering to students. Like, it calls itself A, then claims that it offers B, when you actually need C. And it tries to convince you that no, you do need B and that's what we have. I would not trust something like this as someone also mentioned earlier, it just has too many alternative facts to play with.

And I was able to get some vet assistant certificate at $15 from a program that could be completed in a couple of days.

I'm starting to agree. I wonder if they started out with just their training program, then added the grooming and veterinary assistant programs later on to draw more students. . . Anyhow, what's the name of the certification program you went through?

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[AllieLane]

I'm starting to agree. I wonder if they started out with just their training program, then added the grooming and veterinary assistant programs later on to draw more students. . . Anyhow, what's the name of the certification program you went through?

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I don't remember the name as it was several years ago. You could try search online maybe? The company sells many online courses.
The certificate is more like to show that this person finished our online program type of certificate. In other words, since there is no board for vet assistant, there is no one to issue those license type of certificates.
Hope this helps!

 

[cellowars]

I don't remember the name as it was several years ago. You could try search online maybe? The company sells many online courses.
The certificate is more like to show that this person finished our online program type of certificate. In other words, since there is no board for vet assistant, there is no one to issue those license type of certificates.
Hope this helps!

Thanks!

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[WhtsThFrequency]

I love how the OP ignored pretty much all other advice from others about how online programs are not necessary or helpful, and latches onto the one person who can give her info about an online program.

A certificate from a "vet assistant" program that can be done in a few days online (?!) is especially laughable and worthless.

 

[AllieLane]

I love how the OP ignored pretty much all other advice from others about how online programs are not necessary or helpful, and latches onto the one person who can give her info about an online program.

A certificate from a "vet assistant" program that can be done in a few days online (?!) is especially laughable and worthless.

I don't blame her as we all need placebo from time to time (at least I do). 🙂
If one wants to take a pill anyways, and the $6,000 pills and the $20 ones are equally worthless and effective in alleviating the anxiety, I'd take the $20 ones.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I don't blame her as we all need placebo from time to time (at least I do). 🙂
If one wants to take a pill anyways, and the $6,000 pills and the $20 ones are equally worthless and effective in alleviating the anxiety, I'd take the $20 ones.

 

[cellowars]

I love how the OP ignored pretty much all other advice from others about how online programs are not necessary or helpful, and latches onto the one person who can give her info about an online program.

A certificate from a "vet assistant" program that can be done in a few days online (?!) is especially laughable and worthless.

I just wanted to know what it was called.

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[Caia]

I love how the OP ignored pretty much all other advice from others about how online programs are not necessary or helpful, and latches onto the one person who can give her info about an online program.

A certificate from a "vet assistant" program that can be done in a few days online (?!) is especially laughable and worthless.

You're not saying what they want to hear, WTF. Lol

 

[cellowars]

Yeah, that was kind of funny. I was only wanting to know the name of the program from the sake of looking it up.

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[WhtsThFrequency]

You're not saying what they want to hear, WTF. Lol

Yeah, that was kind of funny. I was only wanting to know the name of the program from the sake of looking it up.

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I don't think you understood who Caia was directing that 'lol' at.....

 

[cellowars]

What, then?

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[WhtsThFrequency]

I shouldn't have to explain this to you if you read what she said.

 

[cellowars]

I shouldn't have to explain this to you if you read what she said.

She didn't get any benefit from the program she went through, and I asked her for the name of it. The program was so insignificant to her that she couldn't remember it's name, and that tells me she didn't think highly of it. Case closed. What's so funny about that?

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[WhtsThFrequency]

Never mind.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Pretty much Caia was commenting on how the only piece of advice you listened to/acknowledged was the one you wanted to hear, not what the majority of people were saying.

Doesn't matter, what you do is completely up to you. However, there isn't much point in asking publicly if your mind is already made up. For validation? Sure. However in this case no one agreed with you.

 

[DVMDream]

Damn missed a good thread

Also vet assistant school is a complete money making scheme. Totally pointless and not worth it. I never stepped foot into an assistant or tech school and still was able to take xrays, draw blood, monitor anesthesia, etc. Definitely don't throw money away at assistant school. If you want certification as a vet tech, that is different.

 

[Jasonsal]

Yep! You need to have a certificate to be a veterinary assistant in the U.S. I'm not talking about just cleaning cages and stuff. I'm talking about assisting with x-rays, helping move an animal, taking samples for lab analysis, giving medications, administering medications, clipping nails, that sort of thing.

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A licensed veterinarian can sign off on you're becoming a vet TECH with no school at all. To be a vet assistant requires nothing. High school clinic workers that have been in the business for one day assisting the veterinarian are considered vet assistants. Techs obviously earn more. Vet tech school is a 2 year program and will help, I'm sure, but not necessary by any means.

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