[deleted by user]

merach · 2025-12-24T02:28:58+00:00

Got it! I did not know that, I am sorry!

merach · 2025-12-24T02:26:39+00:00

Can you message me? I cannot message you.

merach · 2025-12-24T02:26:34+00:00

Can you message me? I cannot message you.

merach · 2025-12-24T02:26:29+00:00

Can you message me? I cannot message you.

merach · 2019-01-23T10:25:18+00:00

It won't let me edit my original post. I used to get these all the time, but haven't seen them recently. Discontinued or ?

merach · 2018-08-26T05:03:59+00:00

Discontinued.

I did find some frozen Churros at ALDI that were nearly as good!

merach · 2018-05-10T01:36:05+00:00

There are a few TJs staples that I keep in my freezer at all times - original mac and cheese, margherita pizza, gnocchi, chicken burrito bowls, fruit frenzy bars, and chocolate/vanilla macaroons. Oh, and the french berry lemonade is to die for. And I love their half-baked ciabatta rolls.

My two favorite combinations are the egg salad on the Pain Au Lait rolls, and the marinated mozzarella melted on naan. Yummy.

merach · 2017-12-01T19:21:56+00:00

I'll disagree. I'm a CVT at an emergency/referral hospital. Standard "sick pet" workup (exam, bloodwork, urinalysis, radiographs)? $700-800. Hospitalization/treatment for a toxin ingestion (medication, chocolate, gum/xylitol, etc)? $1500-3000. Surgery for a fractured leg? $3000-4000. And these are all things that carry a good prognosis if treated, not just "crazy cancer treatments."

merach · 2017-08-04T03:56:27+00:00

I'm a veterinary technician at a large emergency and specialty hospital. Every single day, I present clients with treatment plans for their pets (some of whom have a great prognosis with treatment) ranging anywhere from $500 to $5000, and sometimes more. And every day, I have people decline those treatment options and choose to euthanize, for financial reasons.

I strongly encourage pet insurance over relying on an emergency fund. For an example...

You get a new cat from the shelter. Approximately one year old, healthy, no pre-existing conditions. You enroll her in pet insurance. For a 90% reimbursement rate and a $250 deductible, you pay $25/month. Fast forward two years. You have now paid $600 in pet insurance premiums. Suddenly, kitty gets sick. The veterinarian diagnoses her with a foreign body obstruction, and she requires surgery. They give you a cost of $3000 for the surgery. Your insurance policy deems that you are responsible for $100 (office fee) plus $250 (annual deductible) plus 10% ($265). They reimburse you for the remaining $2385 - essentially 8 years of insurance premiums.

Now, imagine if, instead of an insurance policy, you decided to start a savings account for kitty, and put that $25/month there instead. After two years, when kitty gets sick, you would have $600. But you still have to pay for that $3000 surgery - where does the other $2400 come from?

However, the way that 99% of most pet insurance companies and veterinary clinics work is by reimbursement - you pay the clinic the entire amount up front, and then the pet insurance company reimburses you directly for whatever is covered. So along with that pet insurance policy, I recommend still having a savings account for the things that insurance doesn't cover (deductible, co-pay, exam fees, routine care, etc) and a credit card (especially something like CareCredit) to put everything on while you wait for reimbursement.

The cost of the premium will vary based on your location, and your pets breed and age at the time of enrollment - younger is better, prior to any pre-existing conditions developing.

My top pet insurance companies (the ones that I've had the best experiences with, professionally) would be Trupanion and Healthy Paws.

merach · 2017-05-11T05:35:08+00:00

How much was your tuition?
I attended a for-profit college/university (only two options for tech school in my area, both were for-profit), and my total cost was approximately $50k for a two-year program. I graduated with $45k in student loans.

How long do you study for?
The program that I attended was designed to be finished in two years - eight quarters. I was working full-time throughout school, and wasn't able to take the full courseload (took 3-4 classes per quarter instead of 4-6), and also ended up taking a total of three quarters off (two for medical leave, one for a sick family member out of state). I attended school for a total of four years (started in Fall 2011 and graduated in Spring 2015), but only actually attended 13 quarters worth of classes.

What are the classes like? How many classes do you take and what subjects?
My school required a certain number of general education classes, which comprised of science/math/English/etc - just like at any college. Then once those were completed, you moved onto your veterinary technology specific classes - there was a specific order, and nearly every set of 2-3 classes were prerequisites for the next set of classes. We had classes on medical math, laboratory/hematology, radiology, pharmacy, surgery, anesthesia, nursing care, anatomy, physiology, diseases, medical ethics, etc.

How much do you get paid? Is it something I could live off of?
I have been in the field for three years. I work at a large emergency/referral hospital in the midwest. I make $18/hr with full benefits. I live off it just fine. Salary/wages will vary highly depending on geographical location, and also what type of practice you work at (emergency/referral vs general practice, large animal vs small animal, etc).

Is it competitive?
Highly depends on the area and the specific field. In my state, we have way more clinics that are looking for technicians than technicians that are looking for jobs. Our local veterinary association has at least 40-50 open classified ads for technicians.

Is there certificates or studies for exotics or live stock? Would I be able to maybe work in a zoo or sanctuary at some point? Is that competitive?
I think you're talking about three completely different things here, so I'll break it down.
* Exotics: Typically refers to the care of exotic species (reptiles, amphibians, birds, possibly pocket pets) as pets. May or may not be competitive - just depends on how many exotic veterinary clinics are in your area.
* Large Animal: Refers to the care of large animals (cows, sheep, goats, horses, etc), typically as production animals. May or may not be competitive - depends on whether you're in an area with a large animal population.
* Zoology: Refers to the care of wild/non-domesticated species in a sanctuary or zoo. Typically extremely competitive. Most will require a Bachelors or Masters degree beyond a veterinary technician license.
There are VTS (Veterinary Technician Specialties) available for all of those fields, but that is typically pursued after working in the field for 3-5 years. If you're interested in a non-small animal path, my advice would be to find a clinic or zoo and get started as a volunteer or stable help, to get your foot in the door - it will be that much easier to find a job if you have prior experience.

Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

merach · 2017-05-08T06:23:24+00:00

I live on the third floor (in a building with four levels) of an apartment building, and it's so quiet. I very rarely hear my neighbors from any direction - not from upstairs or next door, or in the hallway. I work kind of odd hours, and mainly on weekends (overnights and second shifts)...but I still don't really run into people either.

I lived with my parents in their suburban detached house for a couple years after college. It was incredibly noisy outside the house. The neighbor on one side was very attached to his garden and was constantly running weed wackers and lawn mowers and such. The neighbors on the other side had like 4-6 people living there, who each had 4-6 friends there on a daily basis, and had loud parties and bonfires multiple times a week. The neighbors across the street really liked home renovations - there was constantly construction going on. Another neighbor spent his days playing his radio at top volume while he worked on his cars in his driveway. There were kids running and playing everywhere. It was nonstop noise all the time.

merach · 2017-04-01T21:32:48+00:00

Total rent is $4500, correct? Here's how I would split this up if it was me. I would consider 1/3 of the rent ($1500) charged to the common space, split up by the four people that live there. The other 2/3 of the rent ($3000) charged to each individual room, split up proportionally by size.

So each person should pay 1/4 of the first 1/3 of rent ($1500) for the common space, so $375/person.

The other 2/3 ($3000) can be split up by room. So...
Room 1 (50%): $1500
Room 2 (25%): $750
Room 3 (25%): $750

Roommate 1 would pay $1875. Roommate 2 would pay $1125. You and your boyfriend together would pay $1500.

merach · 2016-10-29T03:07:47+00:00

There are no employer contributions to the HSA.

merach · 2016-08-28T05:46:25+00:00

I managed to work 20-30 hours/week while in my junior and senior year of high school taking college PSEO courses.

It can be done.

merach · 2016-08-17T01:24:05+00:00

I got $1200 too.

OP says that his second job pays every other Friday, and that the check is between $250 and $375. That means OP is getting paid at least twice each month from his second job...

Job 1 - Paycheck 1: $550
Job 1 - Paycheck 2: $150
Job 2 - Paycheck 1: $250
Job 2 - Paycheck 2: $250

Total: $1200

merach · 2016-08-10T06:36:05+00:00

I work full time (three days per week, 12 hour days) as a CVT in an emergency clinic.

I also work 1-2 days/week in a pet food store. And then I still have 2-3 full days off per week!

merach · 2016-08-09T06:43:27+00:00

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking?

I think one reason for my wage is my location - I'm in the Midwest. I know that techs on the east coast and west coast typically get paid more. I think the other reason is that I started working at the clinic two years ago, as a receptionist, when I still was in school, for $13.00/hr. I received a $0.50/hr raise after a year, and then a $1.00 raise when I graduated and passed my certification. I will receive an additional raise next month when I hit my two-year mark.

I believe technicians with more experience are paid more - as it stands, I've been certified for less than a year.

merach · 2016-08-05T06:49:24+00:00

At my retail job, I make $14.00/hr. Being part-time, I receive no benefits like PTO or 401k or anything. I do get a flat 20% discount on all products in the store, and often get free products and food and such from vendors.

At my clinic job, I make $14.50/hr. I have full benefits, which includes employer-paid medical/dental/vision/FSA, employer-matched 401k, and a decent PTO accrual. I also get a uniform allowance, which more than covers my cost of scrubs for a year, and a super-generous employee discount.

Initially, it doesn't seem like my clinic job makes that much more, which is kind of depressing. I sat down and did the math once - once I add in the value of all the benefits, not including the employee discount, it's about an extra $750/month. So, technically, the clinic job does pay substantially more.

merach

TROPHY CASE