1Pay
$130,100
Very high national median pay
2025 national median. Top 10% for pay among careers on ChooseField.
Healthcare · Career brief
Veterinarian
Is it a good career to pursue?
The 30-second read
Veterinarian at a glance
Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.
2Demand
9.4%
Strong projected growth
Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Top 10% for growth among careers on ChooseField.
3Openings
3,100
Moderate opening volume
Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Near the middle of ChooseField careers for openings.
4Route in
Professional degree
Long formal preparation is part of the path
Doctoral or professional degree. Prior related work is not typically required.
5The work
Analytical
Problem-solving and analysis dominate the profile
Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
6The catch
Know this first
What could make this a poor fit
The helping mission includes documentation, direct care, and safety-critical routines where a missed detail can affect a patient.
ChooseField take
The strongest national signals are pay and growth; each ranks in the top quarter of ChooseField careers. It makes the most sense if analytical work appeals to you and you are comfortable with a professional-degree path. Main tradeoff: The helping mission includes documentation, direct care, and safety-critical routines where a missed detail can affect a patient.
National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.
Want the evidence behind the snapshot?
Market and path
Pay, outlook, and the route in
National median pay (2025)
$130,100
A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.
2025–2035 outlook
9.4%employment growth3,100openings per year
Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.
Typical entry route
Doctoral or professional degree
BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.
2025 employment
91,100
Estimated workers in this occupation across the United States.
Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Veterinarians (29-1131).
Actual responsibilities
What you would be trusted to own
Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.
- 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.
- Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
- Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets.
Decision-changing realities
What could make this a poor fit
- The helping mission includes documentation, direct care, and safety-critical routines where a missed detail can affect a patient.
Work profile
What the work emphasizes
O*NET importance scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.8
- Getting Information4.5
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.5
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.5
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
Interest profile
Career interests
O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.
Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.
- Investigative6.0
- Realistic6.0
- Conventional3.5
- Social3.5
- Enterprising1.7
- Artistic1.0
Preparation
What the training must make you competent at
Subject matter
Biology
Medicine and Dentistry
Mathematics
Chemistry
Before choosing the major or training
Run a cheaper test first
- Try an approved first-aid, CPR, patient-care, or health-science workshop. Use supervised training or simulation only.
- Ask an early-career worker which beginner task consumes the most time, what makes new hires quit, and what school or training failed to simulate.
Field-specific evidence
What changes the picture
Large debt burdens are common
38.5%
Share of 2024 veterinary graduates with DVM debt of $200,000 or more.
AVMA · 2024 graduates ↗Very high debt tail
16.6%
Share of 2024 graduates with DVM debt of $300,000 or more.
AVMA · 2024 graduates ↗The fuller career guide
How the evidence fits together
Meaningful professional work and durable demand collide with a substantial commitment to professional education and its cost.
The tradeoff that matters most
Veterinary medicine's defining tradeoff is education debt. AVMA data in this brief show a large share of graduates carrying very high DVM debt, so salary-only analysis can be misleading.
Common questions
Questions people ask about this career
Is veterinary school worth it?
Consider this field if its core work interests you: diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Try an introductory project, class, or permitted observation before committing to training. Compare the actual cost and required experience with entry-level work available where you plan to live.
Veterinarian debt
Use the specific DVM program's cost and the type of work you intend to enter. Compare borrowing and repayment with local starting offers, living costs, and further training. Graduate debt surveys describe a distribution; they do not decide whether your individual budget works.
Veterinarian salary
The national median annual wage in May 2025 was $130,100. This is a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Vet vs physician
Consider Veterinarian if you want to diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Consider Physician if you would rather diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems. Compare a sample task and the qualification requirements for each before choosing between them.
Adjacent options
Compare before committing
The useful question is not whether one field wins overall, but what changes when you choose a nearby path. Explore the full career guides for Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Dentist, Optometrists.
Nurse Practitioner
- Median pay
- $132,300
- Growth
- 41%
Master's degree
Compare side by side →Physician
- Median pay
- $271,090
- Growth
- 3.6%
Medical degree and residency
Compare side by side →Dentist
- Median pay
- $176,110
- Growth
- 5.6%
Professional dental degree
Compare side by side →Optometrists
- Median pay
- $136,570
- Growth
- 9.5%
Doctoral or professional degree
Compare side by side →Sources
- BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections and worker characteristics: pay, employment, openings, education, experience, and training for occupation 29-1131.
- O*NET 29-1131.00 occupation summary: tasks, knowledge, work context, and technologies.
- AVMA: 2024 graduates.