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Veterinarian

Overview and Key Facts

vet
Education
Education
Doctoral or professional degree
Median Pay
Median Pay
$125,510
Job Growth
Job Growth
9.60%
(Above US Average)
Jobs in 2034
Jobs in 2034
94,700

What Do They Do?

A veterinarian could...

 
cow and calf
Help a cow deliver a calf if there are complications.
surgery on cat
Perform emergency surgery to help a pet after it has been hit by a car.
eagle
Nurse injured birds back to health for re-release into the wild.
vet giving shot to dog
Give pets their vaccines, like rabies shots, to help keep them healthy.
 
cow and calf surgery on cat eagle vet giving shot to dog

Overview Listen to this section

Veterinarians help prevent, diagnose and treat health problems in a wide variety of animals. Regardless of whether the animal is a family pet, a prize-winning race horse, a dairy cow, a circus lion, or seal in a zoo, its healthcare depends on veterinarians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcP_ad9vfsw

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Veterinarian?


  1. Active Listening: ?
  2. Reading Comprehension: ?
  3. Active Learning: ?
  4. Judgment and Decision Making: ?
  5. Complex Problem Solving: ?
More skills...

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Veterinarian might do:
  • Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
  • Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper.
  • Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries.
  • Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
  • Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
  • Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
  • Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets.
  • Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
  • Euthanize animals.
  • Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses.
  • Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
  • Perform administrative or business management tasks, such as scheduling appointments, accepting payments from clients, budgeting, or maintaining business records.
  • Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs.
  • Conduct postmortem studies and analyses to determine the causes of animals' deaths.

Salary & Job Openings

Median Salary (Yearly Pay)

Tap or scroll over map to see median salaries for each state
No data available for some states (white on the map)

Future Jobs

Blast-Off:

How Will Veterinarian Jobs Grow by 2034?
Projected % Growth
Rapid growth
(10% or higher)
Much faster than average
(7% - 10%)
Faster than average
(5% - 7%)
About as fast as average
(3% - 5%)
Slower than average
(0% - 3%)
Decreasing
Average of all U.S. jobs (5.3%)
Veterinarian jobs (9.60%)
Source: https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm

Steps to Get There: Becoming a Veterinarian

High School Subjects to Study

Aim to study the yellow-shaded subjects.
Math
Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Pre-Calculus
Calculus
Statistics
Science
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Environmental Science
Physiology
Bio-Medical / Biotech
IT &
Engineering
Computer Science
Applied Technology
Drafting & CAD Training
Core
English
Foreign Language
Business
Psychology / Sociology

Career Pathway Listen to this section

A career as a veterinarian requires a bachelor's degree, usually in biology, animal science, chemistry, or some other science field, followed by a four-year Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VDM) degree from an accredited program. In addition, veterinarians must pass a state licensing exam prior to practicing.

New graduates with a DVM degree may begin to practice veterinary medicine once they receive their license, but many new graduates choose to enter a 1-year internship. Interns receive a small salary, but often find that their internship experience leads to better paying opportunities later, relative to those of other veterinarians. Veterinarians who then seek board certification must also complete a 3- to 4-year residency program that provides intensive training in one of the 20 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)-recognized veterinary specialties, including internal medicine, oncology, pathology, dentistry, nutrition, radiology, surgery, dermatology, anesthesiology, neurology, cardiology, ophthalmology, preventive medicine, and exotic small-animal medicine.

Education- Typical Degree Needed After High School Listen to this section

Degree
Post
high school credential
AA
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctoral or Professional Degree

Typical degree for an entry-level position: Doctoral or professional degree ? Types of Degrees and Credentials

In college, students interested in veterinary medicine should emphasize the sciences, making sure to take classes in organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, biochemistry, general biology, animal biology, animal nutrition, genetics, vertebrate embryology, cellular biology, microbiology, zoology, and systemic physiology.

When applying to veterinary degree programs, some schools also require calculus, statistics, college algebra and trigonometry, while others require no math at all. Most veterinary medical colleges also require core college courses, including some in English or literature, the social sciences, and the humanities.

Competition for entry into veterinary school is keen. Candidates with prior veterinary and animal experience usually have an edge in admittance decisions. Formal experience, such as work with veterinarians or with scientists in clinics, agribusiness, research, or some area of health science, is particularly advantageous. Less formal experience, such as working with animals on a farm or ranch or at a stable or animal shelter, is also helpful.

Companies That Hire Veterinarians

Try it Out with an Activity or Project

STEM Activities

STEM activities are fun hands-on explorations that usually take from 10 minutes to one hour and use readily available household or classroom materials while introducing you to STEM concepts common in this career.

Science Project Ideas

Project Ideas are in-depth STEM explorations that have a strong focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data suitable for investigating the scientific method or the engineering design process.

On the Job

Role Models

Read this interview to see what Tanya B. does as a veterinarian at the National Institutes of Health.
Veterinary medicine is an incredibly diverse and exciting field. We work with numerous species and encounter a wide variety of health problems.  
Tanya B., DVM

Nature of the Work

Veterinarians play a major role in the healthcare of pets and livestock, as well as zoo, sporting, and laboratory animals. Some veterinarians use their skills to protect humans against diseases carried by animals and conduct clinical research on human and animal health problems. Others work in basic research, broadening the scope of fundamental theoretical knowledge, and in applied research, developing new ways to use knowledge.

Most veterinarians perform clinical work in private practices. More than one-half of these veterinarians predominately, or exclusively, treat small animals. Small animal practitioners usually care for companion animals, such as dogs and cats, but also treat birds, reptiles, rabbits, and other animals that can be kept as pets. Some veterinarians work in mixed animal practices where they see pigs, goats, sheep, and some non-domestic animals, in addition to companion animals. Veterinarians in clinical practice diagnose animal health problems; vaccinate against diseases, such as distemper and rabies; medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses; treat and dress wounds; set fractures; perform surgery; and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.

A small number of private practice veterinarians work exclusively with large animals, focusing mostly on horses or cows but may also care for various kinds of food animals. These veterinarians usually drive to farms or ranches to provide veterinary services for herds or individual animals. Much of this work involves preventive care to maintain the health of the food animals. These veterinarians test for and vaccinate against diseases and consult with farm or ranch owners and managers on animal production, feeding, and housing issues. They also treat and dress wounds, set fractures, and perform surgery, including Cesarean sections, on birthing animals. Veterinarians also euthanize animals, when necessary. Other veterinarians care for zoo, aquarium, or laboratory animals.

Veterinarians who treat animals use medical equipment, such as stethoscopes, surgical instruments, and diagnostic equipment, including radiographic and ultrasound equipment. Veterinarians working in research use a full range of sophisticated laboratory equipment. Veterinarians can contribute to human as well as to animal health. A number of veterinarians work with physicians and scientists as they research ways to prevent and treat various human health problems.

Work Environment

Veterinarians often work long hours. Those in group practices may take turns being on call for evening, night, or weekend work; and solo practitioners can work extended and weekend hours, responding to emergencies or squeezing in unexpected appointments. The work setting often can be noisy.

Veterinarians in large-animal practice also spend time driving between their office and farms or ranches. They work outdoors in all kinds of weather, and may have to treat animals or perform surgery under unsanitary conditions. When working with animals that are frightened or in pain, veterinarians risk being bitten, kicked, or scratched.

Veterinarians working in nonclinical areas, such as public health and research, have working conditions similar to those of other professionals in those lines of work. In these cases, veterinarians enjoy clean, well-lit offices or laboratories and spend much of their time dealing with people rather than animals.

More Information

Ask Questions

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Additional Resources

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