A majority of veterinary technicians work in animal hospitals or shelters under the supervision of a veterinarian, but some technicians work in research labs with zoologists or zoology researchers.

• Associate Degree: 2 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete

The most common degree for a veterinarian technician is the associate degree that is accredited through the American Veterinarian Medical Association. Bachelor's degrees are also available for those who wish to have the highest level of education in the field. Graduate degrees are not applicable for this field since it is considered a vocational occupation. The first year of the associate degree program is devoted to general education requirements such as math, biology, and chemistry. The second year is devoted to courses such as animal care, anatomy, medical terminology, and laboratory techniques. At the bachelor's level, the first two years are devoted to foundational coursework, and the last two years are spent on more advanced courses such as animal physiology and advanced equine. (BLS)

Every state has its own certification requirements, but most states require certification through the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, which is taken after the student has finished all coursework and a specified number of work hours has been completed. Each state is different, so it is a vital that students check with their particular state to understand the proper requirements. There are three levels of certification: assistant laboratory animal technician, laboratory animal technician, and laboratory animal technologist. After completing each level of certification, graduates can expect better career opportunities and higher incomes. In addition to the various levels of certification, the more experience the vet tech has, the more employable he or she will be.

• Anatomy and Physiology: Expect to take these two closely related courses at the beginning of your education as a future vet tech. While physiology focuses on functions and processes in a living thing, anatomy is primarily a study of an organism's bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles.
• Microbiology and Parasitology: These are also foundational science classes that will ground your understanding of proper veterinary thinking. Microbiology studies all microscopic organisms; parasitology is a branch within microbiology that focuses on parasites and hosts. 
• Animal Diseases / Zoonoses: Veterinary technician education offers at least one course that specifically zooms in on illness in the animals. Zoonoses are those diseases that can be passed from animals to people, or vice versa, such as rabies, trichinosis, and cowpox.
• Large and Small Animal Anesthesia: This class lets you know the unique ways that animals of various sizes must be anesthetized before surgery. You'll learn, for instance, that sight hounds (whippets, greyhounds, etc.) are extremely sensitive to particular types of anesthesia. 
• Companion Animal Breeds: Hone your skills at telling one breed of animal apart from another here. Papillons, Basenjis, Abyssinians, silkies, French Simmentals, Yanbians: By the end of this class, you'll know exactly which type and breed of animal all of these are.

Yes. Just like a medical technician would eventually need to work with people, exposure to live animals is essential to rounding out an education in veterinary technician training in a way that is practical and hands on. You may find, however, that certain programs do primarily concentrate on virtual study before demanding on-site work. 

A degree in sonography, or ultrasound technology, is somewhat related to vet techs, although these students learn more about people than animals and various images of different parts of the body, specifically the abdominal cavity. Candidates in this degree program take coursework such as physics, physiology, medical ethics, and anatomy. Students have the option to enroll in an associate or bachelor's degree program for this field.