By: Julie
It depends on the specific area of veterinary medicine the vet is in, but this
focuses on a typical domestic animal veterinarian.
6am-12pm
 Arrive at work and check up on the “overnighters”…make sure they’re
doing alright and call the owners to give them a progress report.
 Examine the animals as they come in, and admit the ones in need of
surgery or hospitalization first.
 Owners of animals in need of surgery are informed of the procedure,
and after admission, the vet technician or the vet will draw blood for
pre-anesthetic blood work.
 Next is regular appointments or surgery…
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Appointments include: new puppy or kitten visits, vaccinations, sick animals,
checking lumps and bumps, suture removals, and similar processes. Once in a
while there’s an appointment for euthanasia.
Common surgeries include: spays, neuters, tumor removals, dental cleanings, and
tooth extractions.
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Lunchtime, maybe...
Bigger vet clinics with more than one veterinarian working at a time will allow
their vets to take a lunch break, so they can stay open. Small clinics with only
one or two vets will often take a one to two hour break from appointments
and surgeries unless there is an emergency.
Lunchtime is for eating lunch (obviously), finish surgery, return phone calls,
check on animals recovering from anesthesia, check on other hospital patients,
and see any emergency appointments.
2pm-closing time
More appointments, including: Sick and injured
animals are examined and evaluated for stability. If an
animal appears critical or requires overnight
monitoring, they’re referred to the emergency clinic.
Afternoon treatments are done for hospital cases, phone calls are returned, and
final notes made in records before the day ends.
(Schedule found on VetMedicine)
Again, it depends on what area of veterinary medicine the vet
decides to specialize in, but the basics are as follows:
 All vets have some sort of clinic they work from, whether a big
clinic with a couple other vets working alongside them, or a
private business.
 Rural veterinarians often have to travel around to check on their
clients…it’s not practical for a large-operation farmer to take his
herds to the clinic, so he just reimburses the vet for fuel and time
 Urban vets don’t have to travel as much, unless it’s an emergency
visit for a client.
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“How would you describe what you do?”
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“How are you compensated?”
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“In veterinary medicine you’ve got to do two things: you treat the animal, and then
you’ve got to use psychology on the owner. Everyday I put up with people like that.
And I make the joke that one end of the leash is easy to deal with. The other end
of the leash is very difficult to deal with.”
“Disease prevention, vaccinations, routine healthcare is probably where most of the
income is generated. Surgery can be a source of income. The sale of healthcare
products: flea products, heartworm preventions, even prescription dog foods is
another source of income.”
“What is most rewarding about being a veterinarian?”
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“When you save an animal’s life or some little old lady comes in here and gives you
a hug because you have saved her animal’s life. That’s what it’s all about. Some
people don’t think it is. Some people think it’s money. The most rewarding thing to
me is what I do for the animal.”
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“How much time off do you get?”
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“Personally, all I take off is one week a year. And I’m not the normal. Most
veterinarians today that go into a group practice, they will get probably a month
off a year. I would say that’s going to be pretty well normal. But not for
somebody that’s a single-man practice. You don’t get to take off a week here, a
week there, you know. People get tired of you not being around and go
someplace else, because it’s very easy for them to just go across the street or down
the road.”
“What advice would you offer someone considering this career?”
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“Be damn sure this is what you want to do. It’s a long ways through veterinary
school. The first year is probably the most grueling part of the whole thing. The
gross anatomy where you’ve got all these species of animals to learn about. You
have to have dedication, and have patience, and you need to have a work ethic.”
“I’d say that most veterinary students come away from school with about
$150,000 in debt, and that takes a lot out of your income to start with. It’s a
difficult road the first five years out of school. You just don’t come out of
veterinary school and say, Here I am. I’m a veterinarian, you know, and you’re
going to get this big salary, and life is going to be great. It’s not. The person
needs to have patience, and want, and have a desire.”
(Interview found on Jobshadow.com)
Becoming a vet requires a professional or doctoral degree in Veterinary
Medicine, which requires:
 A high school diploma,
 B.A. in biology or pre-veterinary study,
 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from an accredited
veterinary college,
 And a state license.
Total: 4 years high school, 4 years undergrad, 4 years graduate
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Certification is optional, it just shows a licensed veterinarian's
experience in a particular field or topic.
If you were to get a certificate, you would have to pass the North
American Veterinary Licensing Examination and fulfill other
state-determined requirements.
Having an internship at a vet clinic while working towards
your DVM diploma is required as well as extremely helpful, but
there is no other required training, unless required by the vet school
you attend.
There were over 70,000 veterinarians in the US as of 2012,
with the number estimated to increase by 12% (average growth) by
2022.
Depends on what area of veterinary medicine you specialize
in (productive/large animal, domestic, wildlife, avian, exotic), your
overall experience, location, company, industry, and benefits
provided. Most veterinarians make, on average, $86,640 annually
according to the 2013 BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Although
in larger practices, veterinarians can make close to $200,000
annually.
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Veterinary Technician
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Veterinary Assistant
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A vet tech works with veterinarians like a nurse works with a doctor: doing
blood tests, sterilizing surgical equipment, records patient history and the like.
Clean and maintain equipment; feed, exercise, and groom patients and similar
tasks.
Veterinary Inspector
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Works for government health agencies. Inspects
slaughterhouses and other food plants to ensure
that the animals do not carry diseases and follow
sanitary regulations.
Depends on whether you are self-employed or are part of a larger
practice.
 If you are part of a large practice with multiple other vets, you
could work your way up to becoming the head vet in that
practice, unless your employer says otherwise.
 If you are a “one-man-band”, you can compete with other area
veterinarians to become the go-to vet. However, you may want to
consider expanding your practice if you want to stay ahead of
the game.
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Large animal Vets
Domestic animal vets
Exotic animal vets
Avian vets
Pretty much everything can be
specialized…
Being a vet is appealing to me because of my love for animals. I’ve
always been that stereotypical kid who brings a stray dog/cat/snake-likething home and begged to keep it. I also like caring for people and
animals; I suppose I got that from my mom (a nurse). When my cat was
sick last winter, I took him into the house everyday and made sure he’d
warm up and give him some water from a dropper (he’s healthy again
now). Another trait I share with veterinarians is my ability to handle gross
and bloody situations. I’ve gone hunting with my dad since I was four and
seen the insides of birds, rabbits, and deer (and even helped clean them
out) more than once, so I don’t think performing surgery will cause any
issues for my stomach. Being a vet doesn’t pay much compared to other
vocations, but I don’t want a lot of money. I just want to have a career that
I enjoy doing. 
The top ten veterinary schools in the US as of 2011:
1.
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
2.
University of California - Davis
3.
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO
4.
Ohio State University
5.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
I myself will most likely attend U.o.M. or Iowa State (not ranked)
because they are closer to family.
(Ranks according to EducationPortal)
The average cost of attending a vet college with four year
tuition, room and board, is around $63,000 annually, rounding up
to $252,000. However, cost of tuition is continuing to rise as
inflation does. The decreasing amount of pets
in the US and the rising number of aspiring
vets is another factor for the rising debt of
newly graduated veterinarians.
(According to the NewYorkTimes)
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