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Veterinarian Career Outlook and Salary Information
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Veterinarian job outlook In general, veterinarian jobs will grow in line with the average employment outlook. There are a number of factors however which are favorable to the veterinarian job outlook. Although competition for admission to a vet school is strong, the number of graduates is limited. Pet owners are buying more cats. They are also expecting more advanced, intensive, and preventative care for their companion animals. Increasingly pet owners take out medical insurance on their animals, which creates extra finance to pay for treatment. Pet owners are also becoming more affluent, and more able to fund a wide range of healthcare for their pets. If you are prepared to work in rural areas, and salary is not your main consideration, there is a good outlook for large animal vets. Growing emphasis on health and safety, homeland security, biomedical research, and disease control, will create a wide variety of positions, often in Federal Government employment, for vet school graduates.
What salary do veterinarians earn? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that vets (as at May 2004) had median annual earnings of $66,590. Salaries ranged from over $118,430 for the top 10% of earners to under $39,020 for the lowest 10%. The middle 50% of veterinarians earned between $51,420 and $88,060. In 2005, vets working for the Federal Government earned an average salary of $78,769. A survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association reported on figures for starting salaries for veterinarian college graduates in 2004. These showed that a recently-qualified vet would expect a starting salary ranging from $39-50,000, depending on the kind of work undertaken.
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