As a veterinarian, your job is to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and injury in animals. This would include advising clients on the feeding, hygiene, breeding and care of animals. Most vets work in private practice, but animal hospitals or clinics are becoming more common in response to the high costs of starting up a seperate practice. Depending on your location and the type of practice, you would deal with house pets or farm animals. You might specialize in caring for a particular species of animal, work in a zoo or on a wildlife preserve or be involved in education or research. Governments also employ veterinarians in such activities as disease control, research laboratory testing, and animal and meat inspection.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Enrollment in university programs of veterinary medicine is limited, and entrance standards are high. The minimum required for registration and licensure with national veterinary associations is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, taken after two years of pre-veterinary studies at the university level. Continuing your training studies is important to your career. For jobs in research or education, post-graduate study may be necessary.

SALARY:
$50,000 to $59,000