Healthcare
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.
Plan my path to this →How to qualify
EstimateLicense requiredCost to qualify
$90,200–$411,000
Time to qualify
8.2 yr
Renewal
$75/yr
- 1
Bachelor's degree
DegreeFour 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
Doctoral / professional degree (PhD, MD, JD…)
DegreeThree 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
National & state licensure
LicenseA 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
Junior Veterinarian
Entry / Junior
$80,000
~2 yrs to advance
Veterinarian
Established
$119,000
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Veterinarian
Senior
$159,500
Key skills
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
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
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.