If you’re a pet and animal lover, you might consider becoming a veterinarian one day. Veterinarians treat animals and diagnose diseases and medical conditions. Many veterinarians specialize in the treatment of companion animals like dogs, cats, or rabbits, but other veterinarians focus on farm animals, horses, or zoo animals. Veterinarians are key health figures in our society because they not only take care of our pets and food, but they also study how to prevent and treat diseases that pass between humans and animals. If you’re interested in becoming a veterinarian someday, find out about the factors that will affect your salary.
Average Salary
Veterinarians tend to make less money than physicians who treat humans, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t get paid fairly well. The median salary for all veterinarians is around $84,460 per year, which equates to around $40.61 per hour of work. The lowest 10% of veterinarians made around $51,530 per year, and the highest paid veterinarians made over $144,100. Working as a vet certainly pays well, but it can also be a tough job. Vets tend to work long hours and often have to be on-call to respond to animal emergencies. One in three veterinarians work more than 50 hours per week. If you’re thinking of becoming a veterinarian, know that you’ll most likely be financially secure, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy money.
Salary by Industry
Many vets work in private practices and deal with the daily treatment and health check-ups of companion animals. Veterinarians who work with farm animals or horses tend to earn less than companion animal veterinarians, but veterinarians who work in scientific research pharmaceutical manufacturing tend to be among the veterinarians in the higher pay scale range.
Comparison to Related Careers
The median pay for workers who work near animals but are not veterinarians tends to be much lower than the median pay for medically licensed veterinarians. For example, the median pay for agricultural and food scientists is only $58,610, the median pay for animal care and service workers is only $19,970, and the median pay for veterinary assistants is only $23,130.
Location
Like other professions, the pay tends to be better for veterinarians who work in metropolitan areas. The highest paying places to live if you’re a veterinarian are California and Florida.
Job Outlook
The number of veterinary jobs in the United States is expected to grow by 8,400 in the next 10 years, which is about a 12% change. This rate of growth aligns with the average rate of growth for other occupations.
