Curious about vet pay? What's the average veterinarian's salary?

Hi, I am a vet and I'd be glad to answer your questions! The average a vet makes varies by area and clinics, and the type of animal you work with (i.e. large animal, small animal, equine), but the average starting salary can be around $70k. I've always wanted to be a veterinarian, even since I can remember. It's the only job I've wanted to do since I was a child. I work with small animals and horses. I attended Purdue University for my undergraduate degrees, but i went to Massey University in New Zealand for veterinary school. It's accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, and I got to move to the most beautiful country in the world :-) It took me a long time to get where I am, as I didn't get into vet school right away. I went and got a master's degree before going back to vet school. If you get into vet school right out of college, it will take at least eight years total (four in college and four in vet school) before you are a qualified vet. I'm not sure what you mean by any other achievements in this career, sorry. You need to be aware that being a vet isn't a 9-5 job. It's very long hours, there is a high amount of debt from vet school, and the pay relatively isn't great for the amount of debt. I do love working with animals, but sometimes working with owners carries its own difficulties. It's also hard to lose a patient, and seeing cases of animal abuse are especially difficult. You really have to have a passion for animals for this job, but also understand it's not easy. The road to get here is very hard and the job itself is very hard, but it can be rewarding. If you want a true idea of what it's like to be a vet, I would volunteer at a vet's clinic to get that experience. I hope this helps!

I am a small animal vet that has been in general practice for 9 years. I have never had another job. I started as a vet assistance and become a dr after school. My work schedule is M-F 730-530 and every other Saturday until noon. I do research and work on charts at home. Salary is generally around 70-80k based on location and experience. I love being able to help people find comfort with treating their animals and I hate that I cannot fix and Save all of them

Getting a veterinary medical degree in the United States requires an additional four years of education after college. The cost of vet school varies depending on a variety of factors including whether you are considered an "in-state" student, whether the school is public or private, etc. But on average, for most students, vet school ends up costing an average of $150,000 - 200,000 total. This would be in addition to whatever costs are accrued in college, prior to applying to vet school.

There are 2 year and 4 year degree programs in Veterinary Science Technology. Contact your local community college for additional information. The difficulty will depend on how much work and studying you put into it. The average yearly salary runs between $30,000US and $40,000US. There will be clinics that pay less or pay more. You can specialize in exotics, but you will likely not find a clinic that sees just rabbits.

Hi and thanks for your request. The salary and the promotion steps would vary a lot depending on the type of work you are doing (clinical versus public health vs research). The passion for biology and animals and medicine gave me inspiration for choosing this profession. Personal hardest animals are horses. It is quite easy to get a job but that would depend were you work and what type of job you want to do. Passion for animals and learning and perseverance are important in this profession and they are what you have to keep in mind (unwritten rules). I have learned that failure is an important part of this profession and has to be taken with a positive attitude.

I can try to help you, but I will not be giving you my last name or the organization I work for to keep my privacy. I've had people try to track me down outside the site, so I do not want to give too much identifying information. 1. Dr. Melanie 2. Home euthanasia service and locum vet (filling in at vet clinics as needed) 3. With the home euthanasia service, I provide both hospice and euthanasia services. I basically go to people's homes and put their animals to sleep. Our organization only does this for old and sick pets, and having this done in the home is a great comfort to both the owners and their pets. With my locum work, I typically do surgery. I cover for vets who are sick or on holiday, and I perform routine surgeries such as spays and neuters on cats and dogs. 4. The home euthanasia service is as needed and an appointment can last anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. It depends on the owner and how long they want me there, there is no set time. The cost of this varies on the type of pet and the weight of the pet, as well as if they want their pet cremated and returned to them. A consultation with me for this service is $100NZ, and my fee is included in the pricing of our services. As for the locum, as I said, I work as needed and can work up to 8-9 hours a day. I get paid $45NZ an hour for this. 5. Veterinary degree is required. 6. Working in a vet clinic is required to get into vet school. Prospective students should have many hours of experience in a vet clinic so they can start to have an understanding of what the job of a vet entails. 7. In my jobs, there isn't really a chance for advancement but because I cover an area solo, I basically am at the top of the business with the home euthanasia service. 8. I am a doctor. 9. I'm not sure what you mean by work experience. I enjoy my jobs, I love both surgery and the home euthanasia. I feel like with the home euthanasia that I'm giving sick animals a gift of letting them go peacefully and without further pain. I hope this helps!

Hello! Sounds like you're interested in pursuing this career choice :-) I am happy to answer some questions for you, but we're limited in the length of our answer in the "free" forum here, so if you'd like a more thorough answer please request a consultation and I'm happy to go into more detail! There are many different types of veterinarians and different careers that can be pursued. I work in a busy small animal practice, and a typical day involves either surgery or seeing appointments. Either way, it's a busy job - lots of juggling scheduled appointments, "add-on" (urgent care style) appointments, drop off hospitalized animals, and phone calls, and LOTS of paperwork as everything needs to be thoroughly documented in the animal's medical record. What makes this job most interesting is the variety, as we see all conditions and never know what the day has in store! You might spend a morning suturing a laceration, managing an emergency, counseling an owner on training a new puppy, or talking through behavioral concerns. I initially decided to become a veterinarian when I was a small child due to my love of animals, then solidified the decision as an adult when I realized how much I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of medicine. The best moment of being a vet is when I am caring for a sick animal and I get to see the first tangible signs that it's feeling better. For example, when a sick animal who hasn't eaten in days suddenly shows enthusiasm about food. That's a good feeling! The worst moments are navigating the difficult decisions about juggling care and money concerns - vets all wish we could provide the best possible care for all of our patients, but unfortunately good care costs money, and this is a limitation that many owners have. If we could treat everyone for free we would! But it's just not possible to do so and remain in business. Good communication is absolutely essential to being a good vet. Ultimately the decisions about care need to be made by the owners, and they need to understand what you're recommending and why, as well as understand anything necessary regarding follow-up care. A common challenging situation is when we are booked with appointments, and then an emergency comes in that absolutely requires our immediate time and attention. Patients need to be triaged and emergencies need to take priority, but we also want to respect people who have appointment times and don't want to keep them waiting - so again this job requires a lot of juggling! The most important thing to focus on in high school is taking lots of advanced classes and doing what you can to excel. Particularly focus on math and science, but all aspects of education are important at the high school level. Get as much experience with animals as you can, as vet schools will want to know that you are aware of what you're getting into wiht vet school! Shadow a vet if you can, work in a boarding kennel, etc. Good luck! Again, if you want additional information you are absolutely welcome to request a consultation!