What Does it Take to Become a Veterinarian

Veterinarians work with animals to keep them healthy and treat them when they have health issues. Requirements include a bachelor’s degree, vet school and licensing. While becoming a veterinarian isn’t easy, it is rewarding for animal lovers while paying a comfortable salary.

How long does it take to become a veterinarian, and what does the process entail?

Understanding how to become a veterinarian helps people who love animals decide if this is the right career path. The process usually requires a bachelor's degree, veterinary school and testing to become a licensed veterinarian.

What is a Veterinarian?

A veterinarian is a doctor who works with animals. They provide much of the same medical care for animal patients as a human doctor, including routine checkups, preventative care, and acute treatment for illness or injury.

Veterinarians often specialize in a type of animal or a specific treatment area. For example, a vet may specialize in equine, exotic animal, or small animal care. Vets may also work in a general vet clinic, an animal emergency center, or a surgery center.??

What Does a Veterinarian Do?

A typical day for a veterinarian varies based on the practice and that day's caseload. Responsibilities include:

• Examining patients.
• Giving vaccines.
• Performing diagnostic tests.
• Treating injuries.
• Performing surgery.
• Prescribing medications.
• Educating animal owners on basic care and health issues.
• Euthanizing animals.

Veterinarians have to be ready for anything, especially in emergency vet care. They use the patient's history and an assessment of their current condition to decide the next steps.?

Steps to Becoming a Veterinarian

Some career paths have flexible requirements for education and experience. This is not one of them. A veterinarian career requires a specific path to earn the necessary credentials. There are some optional steps and flexibility in requirements, but the process is similar for most people.?

Complete Bachelor's Degree with Specific Prerequisites

Earning a bachelor's degree is usually required for acceptance into veterinary school. Undergraduate students who want to go to veterinary school often major in animal science, biology or related science fields. Some programs might accept applicants without a bachelor's degree if they meet other prerequisites for coursework. However, having a bachelor's degree can increase the candidate's chances of getting accepted into veterinary school.

General requirements in veterinary school might include biology, physics, chemistry, biochemistry and genetics, plus education subjects such as math, English and social sciences. These requirements may vary by school.

Gain Relevant Experience

Hands-on experience treating animals can help students ensure veterinary medicine is the right career path for them and improve a candidate's chances of acceptance into veterinary school. Some schools require a minimum amount of volunteer experience in relevant fields.?

These options can help candidates gain experience:

• Work as a vet tech
• Volunteer at a veterinarian hospital or zoo
• Complete an internship
• Job shadow with a veterinarian
• Join an organization during the undergraduate program for pre-vet students

Apply to Veterinary School

Accredited veterinary schools in the U.S. only accept about 3,000 students per year. The limited number of spots makes the acceptance process highly competitive. Applicants can increase their chances of veterinary school acceptance by applying to multiple programs and scoring highly on required standardized tests, like the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).?

Applicants also typically submit essays and letters of recommendation. Some colleges may require additional qualifications, such as a minimum amount of volunteer work in the veterinary field, as discussed above.

Earn a DVM Degree

The doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree usually takes about four years to complete. Programs typically start with classes and labs for two years. Year three includes some clinical work outside of the classroom. Year four usually involves hands-on learning through clinical rotations in different areas of veterinary medicine.

Coursework covers all aspects of veterinary care. Common classes may include:

• Anatomy and physiology.
• Molecular biology.
• Animal behavior.
• Epidemiology.
• Pathology.
• Nutrition.
• Clinical skills.
• Diagnostic imaging.
• Parasitology.
• Pharmacology.

Pass the NAVLE

All veterinarians must pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) before working as a vet. It is a computerized multiple-choice exam with 360 questions. Scores range from 200 to 800, with a required minimum score of 425 to pass. DVM students typically take the exam during their final year of veterinary school.

Many states also require veterinarians to take a state exam to become licensed. Reviewing the licensing requirements for the state where a graduate plans to work helps them prepare for any additional state qualifications.?

Pursue Internship or Residency (Optional)

While not necessary, an internship or residency after passing the NAVLE provides more practice before jumping into a full-time veterinary role. Veterinarians who want to specialize in a specific field can pursue a residency lasting three or four years in that specialty.?

Begin a Veterinary Career

Anyone who passes the NAVLE can begin practicing as a licensed veterinarian. Starting the job search early increases the chances of landing a job quickly. Ways to find veterinarian positions include:

• Networking with established veterinarians.
• Working with a recruiter specializing in veterinary medicine.
• Searching on veterinarian-specific job boards.
• Joining professional organizations.
• Attending conferences and networking with other attendees.
• Reaching out to veterinary clinics where the candidate wants to work.

Strong candidates have plenty of veterinary experience by this point. Most veterinarians work for a clinic or organization as a practitioner before starting their veterinary practice. Having a few years of experience increases knowledge, skills and confidence before running a clinic.

How Much Does a Veterinarian Make?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for veterinarians is $100,370 per year. On the low end, annual wages are less than $67,760 for the bottom 10% of veterinarians, while the top 10% earn over $165,600 each year. Specific salaries depend on experience, location and type of practice. Veterinarians working for private practices typically make more than those working for government or educational organizations.

Final Thoughts on Choosing to Become a Veterinarian

People who want to make a positive impact on animal lives daily are strong candidates for a veterinary career.?While most practicing vets work with companion animals (such as pet dogs, cats, rabbits, fish and so on) the need for healthcare in exotic animals, livestock, marine life and working animals makes this a flexible and exciting career path. Those willing to put in the work to get into school, obtain a DVM, earn their license and pursue a specialty stand to gain.

Top Takeaways

• Veterinarians work with a variety of animals, from pets to livestock, to maintain their health and treat them when they're sick or injured.
• Becoming a veterinarian requires a bachelor's degree, DVM degree and passing the NAVLE. Some states also require an additional exam to become licensed.
• Median veterinary wages are $100,370 annually, but there is a wide range of salaries depending on experience, location and employer.?

(Reporting by NPD)