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Veterinarians

	Median Wage (USD, 2024)	Projected Job Openings (2023-2033)	Projected Growth (2023-2033)
National Statistics	$125,510	4300	19.1%
State Statistics	-	-	-
City Statistics	-	-	-

Statistics

National

State

City

State

City

$125,510

Median Wage (USD, 2023)

4300

Projected Job Openings (2023-2033)

19.1%

Projected Growth (2023-2033)

Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Includes veterinarians who conduct research and development, inspect livestock, or care for pets and companion animals.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Doctoral Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 4 years, up to and including 10 years

On-the-Job Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Detailed Work Activities

Communicate health and wellness information to the public.
Train medical providers.
Supervise medical support personnel.
Provide care for animals.
Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
Maintain medical facility records.
Perform clerical work in medical settings.
Counsel family members of clients or patients.
Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
Treat acute illnesses, infections, or injuries.
Operate on patients to treat conditions.
Prescribe medications.
Immunize patients.
Collect biological specimens from patients.
Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
Treat animal injuries or illnesses.
Determine protocols for medical procedures.
Analyze medical data to determine cause of death.
Manage healthcare operations.
Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
Maintain professional knowledge or certifications.
Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
Develop medical treatment plans.
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

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.
Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
Euthanize animals.
Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses.
Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
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.

Work Styles

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self-Control

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Independence

Innovation

Analytical Thinking

For more information on this career visit: https://explorehealthcareers.org/careers/veterinary-medicine/veterinarian/

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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