Healthcare Practitioners
Veterinarians
Also called: Companion Animal Practitioner, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet), Large Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet)
US median pay
$130,100
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+9.4%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
3,100
91,100 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making3.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.9/5
- Service Orientation3.4/5
- Time Management3.2/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.2/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Systems Evaluation3.0/5
- Management of Personnel Resources3.0/5
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry4.7/5
- Biology4.7/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.5/5
- English Language4.3/5
- Mathematics3.7/5
- Education and Training3.5/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Doctoral degree79%
- Post-doctoral training12%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.