The Technician Tightrope — Balancing Pay, Purpose, and Retention
The Backbone of the Hospital
Technicians are the beating heart of veterinary medicine. They handle patient care, assist doctors, and often serve as the bridge between medical expertise and client understanding. Yet, according to the 2025 Veterinary Payroll Report, nearly one in three technicians leaves their job each year.
Despite modest wage increases, many practices are struggling to retain these vital team members.
The Cost of Constant Replacement
Replacing a single technician costs the average practice nearly $60,000 in lost revenue, training, and transition time. When turnover becomes routine, those costs add up fast—and so does burnout among the team members left behind.
Technicians are earning an average of $27.27 per hour, just slightly above 2023 levels. Market rates are holding steady, but the emotional and physical toll of the work continues to climb.
Pay matters, but purpose and balance matter more.
Experience Is the Missing Ingredient
We’re welcoming plenty of new technicians into the field, but too many experienced ones are walking away. Practices need to find creative ways to make their clinics places where careers can grow, not just start.
That means mentorship programs, continuing education opportunities, and flexible scheduling that allows for recovery time. It also means clear pathways for advancement—because technicians who see a future at your practice are far less likely to leave.
Building a Culture That Keeps People
Compensation is only one piece of the puzzle. Recognition, trust, and autonomy are equally powerful retention tools. The best-performing hospitals in our data share one thing in common: they treat technicians as partners in patient care, not as support staff to be replaced.
Creating a culture of collaboration, respect, and professional growth transforms the technician experience—and the results show up in both morale and performance.
The Takeaway
Turnover isn’t inevitable. It’s a reflection of how well we invest in people.
To retain great technicians, we must go beyond wages and create workplaces where skill, passion, and purpose are valued equally.
