A growing population of pets is keeping demand for veterinary technicians and animal care workers strong.  Earning a veterinary technician degree will help prepare you for an exciting job working with dogs, cats, and perhaps more unusual pets.

Mary Ann Baik left her job as an office manager five years ago to follow her childhood dream of working with animals. Now she spends her nights tending sick and injured pets at the intensive care unit of an animal clinic in Los Altos, Calif.

Mary Ann Baik, center, an animal health care technician, at work at the Adobe Animal Hospital in Los Altos, Calif. Demand for the technicians is strong.

Ms. Baik helps with triage when animals arrive, monitors those in critical condition and assists with surgery. She also checks blood pressure and breathing rates and changes dressings on wounds. Rodents, reptiles and birds have all spent time in the unit, but a majority of the patients are dogs and cats.

Despite increases in the overall unemployment rate, animal health care technicians like Ms. Baik continue to be in demand. In 2006, there were about 145,000 such technicians, and the number is growing faster than in most other types of occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

An increase in new animal procedures and pet insurance is keeping demand high for those who take care of animals.  Earning a veterinary technician degree online will best prepare you for a career in this field.