• Veterinarians diagnose and treat diseases and dysfunctions of animals.
• Specifically, they care for the health of pets, livestock, and animals in zoos, racetracks, and laboratories.
• Some veterinarians use their skills to protect humans against diseases carried by animals and conduct clinical research on human and animal health problems.
• Others work in basic research, broadening our knowledge of animals and medical science, and in applied research, developing new ways to use knowledge.
• Most veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, vaccinate against diseases, medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses, treat and dress wounds, set fractures, perform surgery, and advise owners about animal feeding, behavior, and breeding.
• Most veterinarians who work in private medical practices treat pets.
• These practitioners usually care for dogs and cats but also treat birds, reptiles, rabbits, ferrets, and other animals that can be kept as pets.
• Some veterinarians work in private mixed and food animal practices, where they see pigs, goats, cattle, sheep, and some wild animals in addition to farm animals.
• A small proportion of private-practice veterinarians, about 6 percent, work exclusively with horses.
• Veterinarians who work with food animals or horses usually drive to farms or ranches to provide veterinary services for herds or individual animals.
• These veterinarians test for and vaccinate against diseases and consult with farm or ranch owners and managers regarding animal production, feeding, and housing issues.
• They also treat and dress wounds, set fractures, and perform surgery, including cesarean sections on birthing animals.
• Other veterinarians care for zoo, aquarium, or laboratory animals. Veterinarians of all types euthanize animals when necessary.
• Veterinarians who treat animals use medical equipment such as stethoscopes, surgical instruments, and diagnostic equipment, including radiographic and ultrasound equipment.
• Veterinarians working in research use a full range of sophisticated laboratory equipment.
• Some veterinarians contribute to human as well as animal health.
• A number of veterinarians work with physicians and scientists as they research ways to prevent and treat various human health problems.
• For example, veterinarians contributed greatly to conquering malaria and yellow fever, solved the mystery of botulism, produced an anticoagulant used to treat some people with heart disease, and defined and developed surgical techniques for humans, such as hip and knee joint replacements and limb and organ transplants.
• Today, some determine the effects of drug therapies, antibiotics, or new surgical techniques by testing them on animals.
• Some veterinarians are involved in food safety and inspection.
• Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors, for example, check animals for transmissible diseases such as E. coli, advise owners on the treatment of their animals, and may quarantine animals.
• Veterinarians who are meat, poultry, or egg product inspectors examine slaughtering and processing plants, check live animals and carcasses for disease, and enforce government regulations regarding food purity and sanitation.
• More veterinarians are finding opportunities in food security as they ensure that the Nation has abundant and safe food supplies.
• Veterinarians involved in food security often work along the country’s borders as animal and plant health inspectors, where they examine imports and exports of animal products to prevent disease here and in foreign countries.

• Veterinarians usually practice in animal hospitals or clinics and care primarily for small pets.
• Recent trends indicate particularly strong interest in cats as pets.
• Faster growth of the cat population is expected to increase the demand for feline medicine and veterinary services, while demand for veterinary care for dogs should continue to grow at a more modest pace.
• Many pet owners consider their pets as members of the family, which serves as evidence that people are placing a higher value on their pets and is an example of the human-animal bond.
• These pet owners are becoming more aware of the availability of advanced care and are more willing to pay for intensive veterinary care than owners in the past.
• Furthermore, the number of pet owners purchasing pet insurance is rising, increasing the likelihood that considerable money will be spent on veterinary care.
• More pet owners also will take advantage of non-traditional veterinary services, such as cancer treatment and preventive dental care.
• Modern veterinary services have caught up to human medicine; certain procedures, such as hip replacement, kidney transplants, and blood transfusions, which were once only available for humans, are now available for animals.
• Continued support for public health and food and animal safety, national disease control programs, and biomedical research on human health problems will contribute to the demand for veterinarians, although the number of positions in these areas is smaller than the number in private practice.
• Homeland security also may provide opportunities for veterinarians involved in efforts to maintain abundant food supplies and minimize animal diseases in the United States and in foreign countries.
• New graduates continue to be attracted to companion-animal medicine because they usually prefer to deal with pets and to live and work near heavily populated areas, where most pet owners live.
• Employment opportunities are very good in cities and suburbs but even better in rural areas because fewer veterinarians compete to work there.
• Beginning veterinarians may take positions requiring evening or weekend work to accommodate the extended hours of operation that many practices are offering.
• Some veterinarians take salaried positions in retail stores offering veterinary services.
• Self-employed veterinarians usually have to work hard and long to build a sufficient client base.
• Job prospects should be excellent for farm-animal veterinarians because of their lower earnings and because many veterinarians do not want to work outside or in rural or isolated areas.
• Veterinarians with training in food safety and security, animal health and welfare, and public health and epidemiology should have the best opportunities for a career in the Government.

Animal care and service workers; Biological scientists; Chiropractors; Dentists; Medical scientists; Optometrists; Physicians and surgeons; Podiatrists; Veterinary technologists and technicians;

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree