How many veterinarian jobs are available

Admission to veterinary programs is highly competitive, with fewer than half of the applicants being accepted each year. Veterinary programs include working in the classroom, laboratory, and clinic.

In all states veterinarians need a license to practice. Although licensing requirements vary by state, they all require graduation from an accredited veterinary program and passing the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam. Veterinarians usually must obtain a separate state license for each state they wish to practice in. Technically, a veterinarian may begin practicing as soon as they graduate and earn their license, but many opt to do a one-year residency first, in order to gain more experience.

Certification is not required for veterinarians, but highly recommended, as it demonstrates mastery of skill in specific specializations. Veterinarians may earn certification from the American Veterinary Medical Association in 40 different specialties. Animal owners consider veterinarians irreplaceable; these specially trained professionals diagnose, treat, and research animals.

The animals veterinarians work with vary from household pets, to livestock to zoo animals to racetrack animals to laboratory animals. A veterinarian's work varies greatly. They see animals for regular check-ups as well as for health concerns, accidents, emergencies, and surgeries.

Veterinarians are trained to treat and dress wounds, test for and vaccinate against diseases, and prescribe medication for pain relief or to aid in the animal's recovery. When nothing more can be done to safely and fairly prolong an animal's life, veterinarians also euthanize animals.

Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. They counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.

Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, such as broken bones; diseases, such as cancerous tumors; and deformities, such as cleft palates.

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers care for animals by performing routine tasks under the supervision of scientists, veterinarians, and veterinary technologists and technicians. Veterinary technologists and technicians perform medical tests under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian to assist in diagnosing the injuries and illnesses of animals. Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals and other wildlife and how they interact with their ecosystems.

They study the physical characteristics of animals, animal behaviors, and the impacts humans have on wildlife and natural habitats.

For more information about careers in veterinary medicine, a list of U. American Veterinary Medical Association. Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. International Council for Veterinary Assessment. A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.

Department of Labor. Toggle navigation. Find Jobs. Entry Level. See all Veterinarian jobs. Injuries and Illnesses for Veterinarians When working with animals that are frightened or in pain, veterinarians risk being bitten, kicked, and scratched. Veterinarian Work Schedules Most veterinarians work full time, and they often work additional hours.

Job Outlook for Veterinarians [ About this section ] [ To Top ] Employment of veterinarians is projected to grow 16 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations. Job Prospects for Veterinarians Overall job prospects are expected to be very good. Employment projections data for Veterinarians, Occupational Title Employment, Projected Employment, Change, Percent Numeric Veterinarians 89, , 16 14, Careers Related to Veterinarians [ About this section ] [ To Top ] Agricultural and Food Scientists Agricultural and food scientists research ways to improve the efficiency and safety of agricultural establishments and products.

Animal Care and Service Workers Animal care and service workers provide care for animals. Dentists Dentists diagnose and treat problems with patients' teeth, gums, and related parts of the mouth. Medical Scientists Medical scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health.

Microbiologists Microbiologists study microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and some types of parasites. Optometrists Optometrists examine the eyes and other parts of the visual system. Physicians and Surgeons Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers care for animals by performing routine tasks under the supervision of scientists, veterinarians, and veterinary technologists and technicians.

There are currently an estimated 79, veterinarians in the United States. The veterinarian job market is expected to grow by CareerExplorer rates veterinarians with a C employability rating, meaning this career should provide moderate employment opportunities for the foreseeable future. Over the next 10 years, it is expected the US will need 16, veterinarians.

As a result the roles available for veterinarians are as diverse as those for animal health companies. The top 8 U. Animal supply companies provide specialized, genetically- and microbiologically-defined laboratory animals, and other services to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, and contract research industries, as well as universities, medical centers and government agencies engaged in biomedical research. Some companies have also diversified their operations to include re-.

Commercial laboratories that provide veterinary diagnostic services for companion-animal medicine and laboratory animal medicine comprise a relatively immature and small industry that is likely to grow in the future. More than 70 such companies were operating worldwide in Animal Pharm, Reports by the National Research Council identified veterinary diagnostics as a necessary, but underdeveloped, part of the U.

Contract research organizations CROs provide services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by performing pre-clinical and clinical trials on new drug candidates. They must abide with the regulations of the FDA and are supplied with animals for testing by animal suppliers. Some CROs have developed businesses in laboratory animal breeding and sales and employ veterinarians in pre-clinical research, safety testing in toxicology and pathology, research animal support and senior management.

Agrochemical companies manufacture herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and other pesticides to protect both crops and animals. Those that responded to the inquiry included both industry giants which employed the largest number of veterinarians and smaller companies. The companies were divided into the following groups: animal feed, animal health, animal supply, biotechnology, chemicals, CROs, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals and biologicals Table Figure shows the average number of veterinarians employed by the respondents according to industrial sector.

Because the respondents are not a statistically-representative sample of the industry, the results should only be viewed as exploratory. However, the numbers suggest that animal health, CROs, and pharmaceutical companies may be the primary employers of veterinarians in private industry. Some of the respondents carry out research on animals to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of new products. Those products may be human drugs, veterinary drugs and biologicals, animal feeds, diagnostic tools, or pesticides.

In the case of animal supply companies, the products are themselves animals. Animal research is carried out by clinical veterinarians and diagnosticians, often with board certification in laboratory animal medicine. Veterinarians with board certification in pathology or toxicology conduct safety testing and toxicology studies, the kinds of activities carried out in CROs.

In contrast, Table displays the responses of animal health companies, in which positions held by veterinarians are more concentrated in clinical and pre-clinical research, as well as in technical and customer service. Research leading to improvements in animal health usually involves the study of the species of animal expected to be the beneficiary of the intervention.

This requires a broad understanding of animal physiology and pathology across many different species, ranging from fish and poultry to livestock and companion animals. As research moves from basic to clinical studies, veterinarians continue to be involved in product development, refinement, and ultimately in meeting regulatory requirements for market approval, in most instances, by FDA or USDA.

After a product is available on the market, veterinary expertise is needed to explain the benefits of the product to customers, who might be veterinarians, food-animal producers, or others. One respondent, a large pharmaceutical company Company A with an animal health products division, provided the committee with a detailed breakdown of the distribution of the veterinarians employed across the areas of discovery research, product development, regulatory affairs, support services,.

These areas encompass a great diversity of positions within the company. Those veterinarians were the least likely at the company to hold PhDs or board certification, but more likely than those involved in research and development to hold a Masters in Business Administration MBA degree. Company A also has a human health division in the United States. It employs more than 60 veterinarians who serve in multiple roles, but in contrast to the animal health division, very few hold positions in business support-related roles.

Table illustrates the distribution of veterinarians in its human health division. Most of the positions are for pathologists and require board certification.

Research that targets new drugs and biological treatments for human health use fewer animal species but require individuals who can think in terms of biological systems and understand integrative medicine. Companies that develop drugs for human diseases often model those diseases in genetically-engineered mutant mice, the available varieties of which have increased exponentially over the past two decades.

This has increased the demand for veterinarians with specialized knowledge of murine physiology, behavior, and pathology, and also for veterinarians with special knowledge of the care, nutrition, and diseases of mice and how to protect them from the introduction of infectious agents. In , Company A indicated that it had 10 open positions for pathologists. The company also sought veterinarians for its pre-clinical, discovery research area and the majority of these positions require post-DVM training in comparative medicine fields e.

Many of the other respondents indicated that they were also trying to hire more veterinarians in at least one job category. Table reflects the number and types of open positions at the 59 companies that responded to the questionnaire in The respondents reported that an average of These figures are in general agreement with other projections of current and future needs for industrial veterinarians.

However, just as other sectors of veterinary medicine and the economy at-large have been affected by the recession that began in , it is likely that some of. Nevertheless, in a survey of employers prepared for the College of Veterinary Pathologists, Thirty-six of the respondents indicated that they employ veterinary technicians. While veterinary technicians are already used robustly in industry, expanding the use of such technical support might provide more time for veterinarians to perform their professional responsibilities and may overcome shortages in veterinary manpower in the short term.

When asked about the factors likely to increase the employment opportunities for U. In general, the growth in the overall market and for some respondents, individual company growth, was the key source of demand. One CRO noted that many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have begun to outsource preclinical studies to reserve valuable in-house resources for activities closer to their core strengths such as discovery.

As a result, CROs are taking on this work, and hiring more U.