Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 86,800 people employed as veterinarians in the United States. The median annual salary is $99,300. Entry level employees earn approximately $60,690 per year and senior employees earn approximately $164,490 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
• Drive mobile clinic vans to farms so that health problems can be treated or prevented.
• Euthanize animals.
• Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses.
• Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
• 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.
• 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.
• Specialize in a particular type of treatment, such as dentistry, pathology, nutrition, surgery, microbiology, or internal medicine.
• Direct the overall operations of animal hospitals, clinics, or mobile services to farms.
• Inspect and test horses, sheep, poultry, or other animals to detect the presence of communicable diseases.
• Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations.
• Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible.
• Provide care to a wide range of animals or specialize in a particular species, such as horses or exotic birds.
• Determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals.
• Inspect animal housing facilities to determine their cleanliness and adequacy.

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