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.
Overview
Tasks
Skills
Median Annual Wage: $87,590
Education: Doctoral degree (75%); Professional degree (23%); Post-doctoral training (1%)
Projected Growth: Average (8% to 14%)
Related Job Titles: Veterinarian (Vet); Veterinary Medicine Doctor (DVM); Small Animal Veterinarian; Emergency Veterinarian; Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM); Staff Veterinarian; Veterinary Surgeon; Associate Veterinarian; Equine Vet (Equine Veterinarian); Mixed Animal Veterinarian
Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
Inoculate animals against various diseases such as rabies or distemper.
Counsel clients about the deaths of their pets or about euthanasia decisions for their pets.
Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
Advise animal owners regarding sanitary measures, feeding, general care, medical conditions, or treatment options.
Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
Attend lectures, conferences, or continuing education courses.
Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations.
Euthanize animals.
Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
Research diseases to which animals could be susceptible.
Plan or execute animal nutrition or reproduction programs.
Perform administrative or business management tasks, such as scheduling appointments, accepting payments from clients, budgeting, or maintaining business records.
Conduct postmortem studies and analyses to determine the causes of animals' deaths.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.