Salary by Years Experience for Veterinarian Jobs

Researching Careers: Veterinarian Salary

There are thousands of people across the world who love their jobs. For many, the career they ended up having is pretty far removed from their childhood assumptions of what their career would be. Few children dream of growing up to become database administrators or financial consultants, not because those jobs aren't rewarding and worthwhile careers, but simply because the day-to-day tasks involved in those jobs tend to be so far removed from the world of children that they may not even be aware of them. However, many children list "veterinarian" among their dream jobs. Perhaps a veterinarian impressed them by saving a childhood pet, or perhaps the lure of working with animals attracts them to the job. Whatever the reason, stuffed animal hospitals and imaginary vet clinics continue to be built all over the world.

Most of these fledgling vets will find other careers along the way, and with good reason. The path to successful medical careers - veterinarian salary expectations included - requires a long journey from those first bandaged teddy bears. In fact, just like humans' doctors, veterinarians in the United States must complete four grueling years of medical school before being awarded their doctoral degree. Just as in other medical careers, veterinarians must make an extensive time commitment before they even begin a practice. Due to this, as with many such careers, veterinarian salary concerns abound. Are you ready to advance from stuffed animal surgeon to real-life vet? If becoming a veterinarian is one of your dream careers, veterinarian salary data from PayScale will help prepare you for the future.

What is the Salary of a Veterinarian?

The Veterinarian Yearly Salary by Years Experience chart above shows that average salaries for a veterinarian can grow by over $20,000 over the course of 20 years. This type of salary expansion is typical of medical careers, veterinarian salary being no exception. The longer a vet spends in the field, the more he or she knows about the subject, and veterinarian yearly salary increases accordingly. This is what is so appealing about veterinary medicine careers, veterinarian salary aside - you never stop learning and expanding your skill set. Compare this chart to the Average Salaries for a Veterinarian by State chart, which shows far less variation. Clearly, where you are is not nearly as important to a veterinarian's yearly salary as what you know.

Dr. Salary has more to say on the subject of dream jobs. Check out his article, "Dream Job Description: What is Yours?"