Animal Science/Pre-Veterinary Science

Career and Major Information
Related Career Titles
Web Sites
Salary Information 

Career and Major Information:

The following information was found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2004-2005.

Becoming a veterinarian requires graduating from an accredited college of veterinary science, and admission to the program is very competitive.  Walters State Community College offers an Associate of Science degree in pre-veterinary science, which is designed for students who desire a degree in Animal Science prior to applying to a college of veterinary medicine.  The link for the department is: http://www.ws.edu/teched/agriculture/default.asp

Veterinarians care for the health of pets, livestock, zoo, sporting, and laboratory animals.  Some veterinarians do clinical research on animal and human health problems.  Some veterinarians choose to practice in private clinics and may specialize in treating either small or large animals.  Other veterinarians work as inspectors for livestock and food safety.  There are often long working hours involving some night and weekend time.  There are 27 four-year veterinary colleges in the United States.  Admission requirements vary from 45 to 90 completed college hours, but most students who are admitted have completed a bachelor’s degree.  Pre-veterinary programs emphasize the sciences, including biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics.  Some require calculus; some require statistics.  Experience with animals weighs heavily in the student’s favor during the admissions process.  A high GPA and a high score on preadmission tests (the GRE and the VCAT) are needed.  The job outlook for veterinarians is positive through 2012.

Related Career Titles:

Medical Researcher

Food Inspector

Livestock Inspector

Consultant for Livestock Industry

Consultant for Pharmaceutical Company

College Professor

Web Sites:

Occupational Outlook Handbook 2004-2005

http://www.bls.gov/oco

American Veterinary Medical Association, 1931 N. Meacham Rd., Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360.

 http://www.avma.org 

Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, 1101 Vermont Ave. NW., Suite 710, Washington, DC 20005.

 http://www.aavmc.org 

Salary Information:

 Median annual earnings of veterinarians were $63,090 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $49,050 and $85,770. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $38,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $123,370.

According to a survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association, average starting salaries of 2002 veterinary medical college graduates varied by type of practice as follows:

The average annual salary for veterinarians in the Federal Government in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions was $72,208 in 2003.

Salary figures quoted are based on national figures.  Local or regional salaries may be lower.