Veterinarian
Veterinarian
Career Overview
Veterinarians diagnose, treat, and prevent illness and injuries in animals. They perform examinations, prescribe medications, perform surgery, and help owners make decisions about animal health and well-being. Veterinarians may work with pets, livestock, wildlife, or animals used in research, and may also contribute to public health and disease prevention. Modern veterinary medicine uses digital imaging, electronic records, laboratory technology, genetic testing, and other advanced diagnostic tools.
Education
A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree is required to become a veterinarian. After high school, students typically complete about four years of university-level study and prerequisite courses, followed by a four-year veterinary medicine program. Licensing examinations are required before practicing.
Work Environment
Veterinarians work in animal hospitals, private clinics, farms, laboratories, government agencies, research facilities, zoos, and other animal-care settings. The work can involve surgery, laboratory testing, emergency care, and direct contact with animals and their owners. Some veterinarians own their practices.
Future Outlook
Veterinary medicine has a strong long-term outlook. Demand is supported by growing pet ownership, the need for animal healthcare, livestock and food safety, disease prevention, and public health. There is also increasing use of telemedicine, advanced diagnostics, digital records, and other technology in veterinary practice. Current workforce projections indicate continued demand, with some areas facing shortages of veterinarians
Recommended High School Courses
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Physics
- English
- Health science
- Advanced Mathematics
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Operate on patients to treat conditions.
- Prescribe medications.
- Treat acute illnesses, infections, or injuries.
- Immunize patients.
- Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
- Collect biological specimens from patients.
- Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
- Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
- Communicate health and wellness information to the public.
- Counsel family members of clients or patients.
- Manage healthcare operations.
- Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
- Treat animal injuries or illnesses.
- Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
- Supervise medical support personnel.
- Train medical providers.
- Determine protocols for medical procedures.
- Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
- Provide care for animals.
- Maintain medical facility records.
- Perform clerical work in medical settings.
- Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
- Inspect facilities for cleanliness.
- Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
- Develop medical treatment plans.
- Drive vehicles to transport individuals or equipment.
- Analyze medical data to determine cause of death.
Schools
Auburn University
Iowa State University
Kansas State University-...
Michigan State University
Purdue University-main Ca...
Suny College Of Veterinar...
Tufts University
University Of California-...
University Of Georgia
University Of Missouri- C...
University Of Pennsylvani...
University Of Tennessee-...
University Of Wyoming
Virginia Tech
Washington State Universi...
Lakehead University- O...
Universite De Montreal...
University Of Guelph
University Of Prince E...
University Of Saskatch...
Approx Salary Expectation
Low End:
$89,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$143,000.00 /yr
High End:
$295,000.00 /yr
Related Careers
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.