Healthcare practitioners
Veterinarian
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.
Median pay
$130,100
Growth to 2035
+9%
faster than average
Openings a year
3,100
Time to qualify*
5 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Veterinarian
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Veterinarian: 56% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core 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.
Also called: Companion Animal Practitioner · Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) · Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet) · Large Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet) · Mixed Animal Veterinarian (Mixed Animal Vet) · Small Animal Veterinarian (Small Animal Vet) · Veterinary Medicine Doctor (DVM) · Veterinary Surgeon (Vet Surgeon)
Outlook and AI
Veterinarians held 91,100 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 99,600 by 2035 (+9%, faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Veterinarian vs. Veterinary technologists and technicians
- Veterinarian vs. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
- Veterinarian vs. Physician (other specialties)
- Veterinarian vs. Physicians, pathologists
- Veterinarian vs. Emergency medicine physician
- Veterinarian vs. Dermatologist
- Veterinarian vs. General internal medicine physician
- Veterinarian vs. Pediatricians, general