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Veterinary Medicine Outcomes & Career Options
Outcomes & Career Options
Veterinarians are dedicated professionals who specialize in maintaining and improving the health of animals, including pets, livestock, and those in zoos or wildlife preserves. Their responsibilities encompass a wide range of medical, surgical, dental, and rehabilitative care for sick or injured animals. Veterinarians diagnose diseases, prescribe medications, administer vaccinations, and educate pet owners on topics like weight management and senior pet care. Some contribute to public health by studying diseases that affect both animals and humans or by serving as food safety inspectors. Others engage in research to advance animal welfare and publish their findings in veterinary journals.
Educational Qualifications
Admission to veterinary school is highly competitive. Candidates must complete 4 years of veterinary medical school to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) and pass national and state board examinations for licensure to practice veterinary medicine. Veterinarians may also specialize in a variety of residency areas including zoo medicine, anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, oncology and preventative medicine.
Job Outlook
The field of veterinary medicine expended due to increase pet ownership. Veterinarians offer a wide range services to improve animal care, food and animial safety, disease control, an dpublic health. Professionals in this field are expected to stay up to date with new forms of treatment and have a patient for animal care.
20% Job Market Growth
$119,100 Median Salary
The median annual wage for veterinarians was $119,100 in May 2023. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $72,360, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $201,440.
In May 2023, the median annual wages for veterinarians in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:
- Veterinary services $119,720
- Social advocacy organizations $110,590
- Educational services; state, local, and private $108,950
- Government $104,420
Partial information in this page was retrieved from Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Veterinarians, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm (visited April 17, 2024).