# 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.

- **SOC code:** 31-9096.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-9096-00
- **Also known as:** Animal Care Provider, Animal Caregiver, Certified Veterinary Assistant, Veterinarian Assistant (Vet Assistant), Avian Keeper, Emergency Veterinary Assistant, Inpatient Technician Assistant, Kennel Vet Assistant (Kennel Veterinary Assistant)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures.
- Monitor animals recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
- Administer anesthetics during surgery and monitor the effects on animals.
- Fill medication prescriptions.
- Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
- Examine animals to detect behavioral changes or clinical symptoms that could indicate illness or injury.
- Perform routine laboratory tests or diagnostic tests, such as taking or developing x-rays.
- Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries.
- Administer medication, immunizations, or blood plasma to animals as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Collect laboratory specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, for testing.
- Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment.
- Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Biology _(knowledge)_
- Administrative _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Medicine and Dentistry _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Biology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX Cornerstone
- Labeling software
- McAllister Software Systems AVImark
- Practice management software PMS
- Scheduling software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 20th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 26th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 6th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 72nd percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 8.7% growth (Growing fast); 22.2k annual openings; 117.8k → 128.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $37,320; 114,190 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 30% automation, 54% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** learning.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems. _(2.7% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties. _(0.4% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me educate or advise clients on animal health care, nutrition, or behavior problems.
- Help me write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-9096-00_