Job Hunting and Careers :: Veterinarian Career
Veterinarian Career:
What It Takes to Make a Career as a Veterinarian
Before you start on the path to a veterinarian career, you should have a solid understanding of what veterinarians do, the training required for the job, employment opportunities, and potential pay scale. To find out more about being a vet, and what that means, keep reading.
Veterinarian Job Description
Veterinarians care for the well-being and health of family pets, farm livestock and other animals, like racehorses, lab animals or zoo animals. Some veterinarians work in laboratory research, others work in livestock inspection, while others work in private practice – setting up a veterinarian career as a community business.
Veterinarians are doctors and need to be comfortable with surgical operations, dealing with animals who are in stress, treating patients who can't communicate their health problems, and working long hours.
Education and Qualifications
If you're considering a veterinarian career, you need to be prepared for a lot of schooling. To qualify for accreditation, you must first obtain either an undergraduate degree or complete a sufficient number of undergraduate course hours before you can apply for Veterinary College. Then, you must graduate with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from a 4-year program at a recognized college of veterinary medicine.
Typically, students pursuing a veterinarian career must meet certain undergraduate course requirements that focus on animal biology, zoology, cellular biology and other science disciplines. Depending on the veterinary college, they may also have to write the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
After completing their education, students pursuing a veterinarian career will have to obtain their state license to practice veterinary medicine. Depending on the state, they will need to pass a state examination.
Employment Opportunities and Pay Scale
The majority of veterinarians work in a private or group practice, running their own clinics and veterinarian business. Others work for the government in roles with the Departments of Health, Agriculture and Human Services, for research and laboratory centers or at universities and veterinarian colleges.
The average annual salary for veterinarians hovers at around $85,000. Recent graduates just beginning their veterinarian career can expect to earn $40,000 and $65,000 as their starting salary.
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Job-Hunting-Careers.com :: Veterinarian Career