Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics. Clean and disinfect cages and work areas, and sterilize laboratory and surgical equipment. May provide routine postoperative care, administer medication orally or topically, or prepare samples for laboratory examination under the supervision of veterinary or laboratory animal technologists or technicians, veterinarians, or scientists.
126,580 people do this job in the US. $38,150 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 19%
- 5%
- 77%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 18%. Today's estimate: 18%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 28 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 15% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform accounting duties, such as bookkeeping, billing customers for services, or maintaining inventories.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Fill medication prescriptions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Perform hygiene-related duties, such as clipping animals' claws or cleaning and polishing teeth.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Record information relating to animal genealogy, feeding schedules, appearance, behavior, or breeding.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | 96%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).