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Veterinarian

Veterinarians care for animals from pets to livestock — diagnosing illness, performing surgery, and advising owners. A demanding doctoral path driven by a love of animals.

Median salary (BLS)

$119,000

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$80k – $200k

Job outlook

+20% (much faster than average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Veterinarian

Education

Typical entry: Doctorate / professional (MD, JD, PhD)

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) plus licensure.

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How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$90,200–$411,000

Time to qualify

8.2 yr

Renewal

$75/yr

  1. 1

    Bachelor's degree

    Degree

    Four years at public in-state rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $11,610/yr, plus books. Private and out-of-state run higher; grant aid lowers most students' actual net price.

    $40,000–$150,000 · 4 years source

  2. 2

    Doctoral / professional degree (PhD, MD, JD…)

    Degree

    Three to seven years beyond the bachelor's. PhDs are often funded with a stipend; MD and JD programs are among the most expensive.

    $50,000–$260,000 · 4 years source

  3. 3

    National & state licensure

    License

    A national board/registry exam plus a state license application (the NCLEX pattern). Exact exam and fees depend on the role and state.

    $200–$1,000 · 2 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Veterinarian" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Veterinarian

    Entry / Junior

    $80,000

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Veterinarian

    Established

    $119,000

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Veterinarian

    Senior

    $159,500

Key skills

Clinical reasoningManual dexterityCompassionCommunication

A typical day

  • Examine and diagnose animals
  • Perform surgery and procedures
  • Advise owners

Fields of study

Animal Science · Biology · Pre-Vet

Top colleges for Healthcare

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.

Related careers

Other careers from this field of study

Mapped by field-of-study code (Animal Science, Biology, Pre-Vet), not by job-title guessing.