So I am a registered veterinary technician, I monitor anesthesthetized animals, perform dental cleanings and oral surgery, take xrays, draw blood, read diagnostics/cytologies, maintain medical records, etc etc. I am paid $21 per hour in California. I had my my first year review at this clinic, and keep in mind the boss just bought another hospital and has been struggling financially. She pointed out so many negatives that I quickly and politely corrected her on, and then she went on to say I was too slow (yet I make the least mistakes, get thorough patient histories, and complete my records before anyone else does…). She decided to halt my RVT responsibilities, and handed me a packet of veterinary assistant skills (step below RVT without the school or licensing) to “master” and have signed off. I started crying during the review and was so fucking embarrassed. I am good at what I do, and will not be degraded by going around with this packet of skills THEY KNOW I can do while they train the newer assistant (much cheaper to pay than an RVT) on surgery duties. I'm convinced that they're trying to push me to quitting because they'd rather pay someone a cheaper wage to do my job and to have an excuse to not give me a raise. (Never saw an increase when minimum wage increased by $1 or when cost of living skyrocketed).
That night I applied to go work at my previous hospital, which I quit due to horrendous hours and pay, but I had amazing coworkers and doctors. When I left there I was still an assistant. Now as an RVT, I have much more leverage as we're in high demand. I asked for guaranteed weekends off, and will also ask to not work past 6pm. (Current hospital closes at 6, other one closes at 9). I was contacted the next day and have a phone interview set up for Wednesday.
My current hospital does have really good hours, with no weekends and closing at 6. We also get holidays such as memorial day off. It is also very easy to request and receive time off. This is very appealing to me and is a big part of why I changed jobs.
At my previous hospital I can still get requested days off, but I will need to submit those days pretty far in advance. No holidays except big ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I'm also planning on asking for at least $24/hr.
Sorry for such a long post, but what would you guys do in my situation? Because I am fucking insulted.