animal welfare specialist

veterinary assistant

veterinary technician

customer care coordinator

customer care specialist

MSPCA-Angell

The surgery department is grappling with significant issues that are fueling employee frustration, burnout, and a decline in operational efficiency. Staff are increasingly burdened with additional responsibilities without corresponding increases in pay, especially after the removal of bonuses, which has left employees feeling undervalued and demoralized. Attempts to boost morale, such as pizza parties, are viewed as superficial and fail to address the underlying frustration caused by excessive workloads, inadequate training, and poor management practices. Training is rushed, leaving new employees to learn on their own, while management's vague communication about staff behavior adds to the sense of frustration. Furthermore, unrealistic productivity demands, with insufficient staffing and resources, are pushing employees to work faster under pressure, exacerbating stress and dissatisfaction. 




Volunteering at the MSPCA in Boston has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. The staff is incredibly supportive, and they treat volunteers like a true part of the team. From day one, I was given clear training on animal care, cleaning protocols, and how to interact with visitors.

A typical shift might involve walking dogs, socializing shy cats, cleaning enclosures, or helping with adoption events. The work can be fast-paced — especially during weekends — but knowing you’re making a direct impact on animals’ lives makes every minute worth it. The facility is clean, well-organized, and you can tell the staff genuinely cares about animal welfare.

The best part? Seeing an animal you’ve cared for find its forever home. There’s nothing like watching a once-nervous dog happily trot out the door with its new family.

The perks of Angell are the numerous departments housed under one roof, and the opportunity to switch gears is always available. That being said, there is still the risk of working with a difficult doctor or a bad supervisor, but there are enough employees working here that you will find where you fit in and the people you like. Management and HR are pretty receptive to internal conflict resolution, but sometimes their hands are tied if it's a doctor who is being difficult and not receptive. The Waltham location is constantly understaffed, and as such has a revolving door and stressed out ER staff.

The organization does amazing things for animals and it's nice to work with people who share the same passion. It can be stressful but that's the nature of working in an emergency veterinary hospital. Leadership has done their best to retain staff during the ongoing challenges from the pandemic. Everyone in vet med should get paid more but that's industry wide. Many can get burned out but there are plenty of people who have been at Angell for several years and even decades. For someone like me who is very mission driven, it is easier to accept the hard parts. But self care is important and the organization supports that through a Calm membership, two veterinary social workers on staff, and incredible health insurance among other things. 

I’ve enjoyed working at MSPCA but it has been stressful. High patient load means you’re running your butt off all day long sometimes without a break. They do try to get everyone to break. 30 min break allowed and hardly every get my other 30 minute break. The techs are smart and willing to educate if you’re willing to listen and learn. Generally nice staff. I struggle with the patient load because sometimes patients don’t get the full care and attention that they deserve. Definitely feel overworked and could use a few more hands in my department. Don’t feel I make nearly as much money as I should for all the things that I do.

While Angell is a fast paced, cool environment to learn in—you will never be treated well as a lower tier employee such as a tech or assitant—especially in the clinic department. They do not pay well even though the department itself is at the core of the hospitals operations. It’s a rotating door of staff because of low pay and lack of empathy towards its employees. No office is offered and you cant even drink water in your own work space. Management is very power hungry and unkind. Work for another department or avoid Angell altogether. You can make a lot more money as a vet tech almost anywhere else.

Interviewed, got SIGNED Offer,  a SIGNED set Schedule/pay.  Start work on Monday but on that Friday before I get a change of schedule in an EMAIL. Later a lame excuse why.   I asked to be considered for another position exactly the same but a schedule like what my Offer was agreed on... crickets, no return email/phone messages.  I guess I was blackballed for not rolling over to the Bait/Switch.  Really too bad as this was a great company and I was excited to work there.  Oh well I got another job 2 weeks later with $10 more per hour.  Shame on you for trying to pull that over on someone. You should have called to talk about it and not just assume it was fine.  Just shows Lack of Professionalism.

I sadly am leaving for the west coast.  I have been looking at positions there and am seeing that I will not have the same learning environment that I had here at Angell. It  is a very fast pace here- But I find it exciting to see the wild variety of animals and cases.  

Really great vets here that appreciate the assistants and techs. My co workers are compassionate -professional and really motivated.  The president of MSPCA even came to my orientation to meet everyone and talk about his mission. 

I really liked working at a non-profit and not a big chain animal hosp.

The MSPCA is a great organization. They have numerous locations in MA and have helped so many animals over the years find homes. The employees really do care about animals and it shows in the smiles of the doctors, nurses, and other staff when you finally get to see them go home. 
Working in the billing office had its tough days but its a job that had to be done in order for the organization to keep the doors open to help other animals. When I was hired as a billing representative I quickly jumped in and learned the ropes and was quickly promoted to Senior Billing Rep to assume additional roles.


Relatively good pay for a technician but they don't pay all for your health + dental so don't let the hourly rate fool you. There is an extreme push for efficiency from the top to the point it becomes risky for patients. On the floor staff are mostly all lovely and very capable but the hospital is so disorganized that there is no efficiency- which then is blamed on the technicians, despite the fact it is an ongoing problem with disorganization and mismanagement of time from management. PTO is quite dismal. Management is chaotic and disorganized. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Animal welfare specialist 42 salaries reported	$20.74 per hour
Veterinary assistant 58 salaries reported	$26.75 per hour
Veterinary technician 18 salaries reported	$28.94 per hour
Customer care coordinator 17 salaries reported	$22.65 per hour
Customer care specialist 13 salaries reported	$20.58 per hour

Working at MSPCA-Angell: Company Overview and Reviews

MSPCA-Angell

MSPCA-Angell Ratings

Popular jobs at MSPCA-Angell

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected