Equine dental technician to animal massage therapist
An equine dental technician already meets 45% of what the animal massage therapist role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.6/ 100
1 How much of what an animal massage therapist is expected to do is already part of an equine dental technician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the animal massage therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An animal massage therapist role treats 10 of its required skills as things an equine dental technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on animal welfare
- animal welfare legislation
- apply animal hygiene practices
- apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting
- deal with challenging people
- environmental enrichment for animals
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animal massage therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an equine dental technician background worth leading with.
- already held environmental enrichment for animals agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting assisting and caring
- already held deal with challenging people assisting and caring
- already held advise on animal welfare communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage animal biosecurity information skills
- already held apply animal hygiene practices handling and moving
All 10 carried skills, including the 10 the animal massage therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn animal behaviour required
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
- still to learn manage animal welfare required
- still to learn perform massage techniques on animals required
- still to learn plan physical rehabilitation of animals required
- still to learn prepare animal therapy equipment required
- still to learn protect health and safety when handling animals required
- still to learn assess the animal’s rehabilitation requirements required
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an animal massage therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 anatomy of animals study this
- 02 animal behaviour study this
- 03 assess the animal’s rehabilitation requirements practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held advise on animal welfare skill
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held apply animal hygiene practices skill
- already held apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting skill
- already held deal with challenging people skill
- already held environmental enrichment for animals knowledge
- already held handle veterinary emergencies skill
- already held manage animal biosecurity skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held monitor the welfare of animals skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
20 held skills the animal massage therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply numeracy skills skill
- not needed by the target role assess animal's condition skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role calculate rates per hours skill
- not needed by the target role carry out equine dental procedures skill
- not needed by the target role communicate specialised veterinary information skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conduct veterinary consultation skill
- not needed by the target role cope with challenging circumstances in the veterinary sector skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role handle horses during dental procedures skill
- not needed by the target role maintain administrative records in the veterinary office skill
- not needed by the target role maintain professional records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain veterinary clinical records skill
- not needed by the target role make decisions regarding the animal's welfare skill
- not needed by the target role manage a small-to-medium business skill
- not needed by the target role plan schedule skill
- not needed by the target role understand the animal's situation skill
- not needed by the target role use equine dental equipment skill
- not needed by the target role veterinary terminology knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
- still to learn animal behaviour required
- still to learn biosecurity related to animals required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn signs of animal illness required
- still to learn animal welfare required
Common questions about this move
Can an equine dental technician become an animal massage therapist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An equine dental technician already covers 45% of what an animal massage therapist is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 10 of which the animal massage therapist role treats as required.
What skills does an equine dental technician need to become an animal massage therapist?
12 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary. The single most important is anatomy of animals.
How hard is the move from equine dental technician to animal massage therapist?
Its learning distance is 57.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.