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Surgical Technologists vs Veterinary Technologists

Median pay is about $17k higher for Surgical Technologists. The usual entry education is postsecondary cert for Surgical Technologists and associate's for Veterinary Technologists.

marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.

Surgical Technologists compared with Veterinary Technologists: pay, outlook, entry and AI exposure
MeasureSurgical TechnologistsVeterinary Technologists
Pay
Median pay$64,650, higher$47,380
Entry pay 25th percentile$54,690, higher$38,910
Experienced pay 75th percentile$79,750, higher$57,650
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Projected growth+5.0% Growing fast+9.4% Growing fast, higher
Openings a year7,10013,400
Getting in
Typical educationPostsecondary certAssociate's
Difficulty modeled2.8 / 53 / 5
AI
Displacement risk modeledLowLow
AI exposure modeled, percentile3rd pct11th pct

Where the skills differ

Only Surgical Technologists

  • Active Learning

Only Veterinary Technologists

  • Writing

Both lean on monitoring, active listening, speaking, critical thinking, reading comprehension.

More comparisons

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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.