[city_chic]

Just wondering what the average starting salary is for vets, and what they can be expected to earn after being in the field for over ten years for example?

[vector]

The only thing I've heard is that to be a vet you shouldn't care about the money, it should be out of passion, otherwise you're not likely to make a good one (this is from an ex's mum who's been a vet for years).

As for pay, I don't know exactly, but it's a fair bit.

[ch0c0h01ic]

Seriously, going into vet sci for money is not the best thing to do. Going into any job soley for money is a recipe for a boring work life where you count down the days to retirement and for us in the UK that is probably going to be a long time.

Just stick with what you enjoy and make compromises. Being a vet is stressful and challenging as it is, if you don't enjoy it, you're going to have problems justifying why you're putting yourself through it(and with the suicide rate being what it is, you don't want to be having problems). If you're solely interested in money become some sort of barraster/lawyer or city trader. My cousin is a very low level trader yet he has the dollar to go on holiday (to very exotic and expensive places, not Butlins) several times a year. With last year's bonus he had enough funds to redo the downstairs of his house, a new top of the range car, wedding, etc. The only problem is that he works very long hours (like most vets) and most of his collegues are in rehab for one reason or another because they can't stick the job.

As i read in a veterinary journal, veterinary science is one of the most unprofitable companies/professions going. There are high setup costs, high skilled labour costs, high costs for new equipment and technologies, a high risk of court action, etc. If you seriously really really really can't go on living without knowing how much a vet earns i'll tell you. Starting out you're looking at about £18K-25Kish. Hmm, sounds great, you go to uni for 5 years and when you come out you're earning as much as a trainee police officer who's had less than a year's training. Sure, when you start buying into a practice, you start to get a share of the profits, so your income goes up, and when you're a major partner/owner then you could be earning significantly more. It all depends on what field you go into. There isn't much money in large animal work, companion animal and equine is very well paid. I was told a while back that a vet with 5-6 years experience could potentially earn £60k a year, of course there are many factors to take into account and that is before the student debt boom which could certainly put you back a good few years. It depends on how you are as a person, your career sector, who you work for, etc.

[tiny_tiger]

I think if you become a specialist, e.g. PhD/Diploma/Certificate etc etc the pay goes up more but you still have to remember that although as a specialist you may get a small pay increase, getting these extra qualifications costs a lot! And for some you wont even be able to work whilst doing them so its a toughy

[Annaconda]

I think if you do locums the pay is normally about 180 a day or something, but depends on the practice, work, length etc

[city_chic]

I'd be a vet because of my passion for the job, not for the money. I was just wondering.

[Evenstar]

I know graduate vets don't start out on megabucks, but one of the good things about being a vet is the package you often get. All the vets at the practice where I nurse get a house/flat with all bills paid, and a car with all mileage (except personal) and maintenence paid for PLUS their salary! Which I think is pretty good!

[city_chic]

(Original post by Evenstar)
I know graduate vets don't start out on megabucks, but one of the good things about being a vet is the package you often get. All the vets at the practice where I nurse get a house/flat with all bills paid, and a car with all mileage (except personal) and maintenence paid for PLUS their salary! Which I think is pretty good!

Yeah, that's the best part lol.

[Pawsies]

For anyone interested in being a vet for the money:

PLEASE DON'T!

Vet bills are far too expensive and most of them have no idea what they are on about!
If you truly love animals enough to want to be a GOOD vet, you'd have started learning some facts about animal health now. Not complicated stuff, just basic stuff. For example I don't want to be a vet but I know that chondroitin and glucosamine help with arthritis.

[Shockley]

(Original post by Pawsies)
For anyone interested in being a vet for the money:

PLEASE DON'T!

Vet bills are far too expensive and most of them have no idea what they are on about!
If you truly love animals enough to want to be a GOOD vet, you'd have started learning some facts about animal health now. Not complicated stuff, just basic stuff. For example I don't want to be a vet but I know that chondroitin and glucosamine help with arthritis.

Would you say you knew better?

Im confused by what point you are trying to make.

[vector]

Most of who? I don't see why you'd have to start learning stuff now - you'd get taught from scratch at Uni. I would expect a candidate to be showing interest through volunteering or something at this point though.

[Clubber Lang]

They make a lot in the long run.

If you dnt care much for animals you would probably suck tho - as someone else said - if u dont like the idea of pets you prob wouldnt know much about the needs of the pets/owners.

[Evenstar]

Just an update for anyone who's interested. I was reading this weeks Veterinary Times today and there was an article about the salary a new graduate can expect.

Apparently the average starting salary is just over 21,000. But including benefits such as car and accommodation the average value of the entire package is just a touch over 30k.

And also I would like to say that although I agree that people aspiring to be vets shouldn't be doing it for the money, I do think it is a valid question to ask how much one can expect to earn in any given career.

[city_chic]

(Original post by Evenstar)
Just an update for anyone who's interested. I was reading this weeks Veterinary Times today and there was an article about the salary a new graduate can expect.

Apparently the average starting salary is just over 21,000. But including benefits such as car and accommodation the average value of the entire package is just a touch over 30k.

And also I would like to say that although I agree that people aspiring to be vets shouldn't be doing it for the money, I do think it is a valid question to ask how much one can expect to earn in any given career.

Thanks! Very helpful.

And I agree with that last point.

[Pawsies]

To justify my reasoning,

Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

They always advocate the most expensive brands. Why? Because unis teach that these are the best foods therefore vets will get more money.

They charge outrageous prices, £60 for a spay/neuter? £29 for tablets?
I'm sorry, that is ridiculous.

They may teach you from scratch at uni, but it might not be right at all.

[city_chic]

(Original post by Pawsies)
To justify my reasoning,

Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

They always advocate the most expensive brands. Why? Because unis teach that these are the best foods therefore vets will get more money.

They charge outrageous prices, £60 for a spay/neuter? £29 for tablets?
I'm sorry, that is ridiculous.

They may teach you from scratch at uni, but it might not be right at all.

I don't think you can say things like this though without having trained as a vet yourself.

[vector]

(Original post by Pawsies)
To justify my reasoning,

Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

They always advocate the most expensive brands. Why? Because unis teach that these are the best foods therefore vets will get more money.

They charge outrageous prices, £60 for a spay/neuter? £29 for tablets?
I'm sorry, that is ridiculous.

They may teach you from scratch at uni, but it might not be right at all.

Vaccinations can make humans ill but they are still needed

With their level of expertise they are bound to charge a lot

[Evenstar]

(Original post by Pawsies)
...Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

I disagree.

I know this is going off-topic but I feel I just have to say that vaccinations are vital in preventing suffering and the spread of infectious diseases.

As a case in point, we are suffering at the moment from a myxomatosis epidemic partly due to the prolonged wet/warm weather conditions we have been experiencing. We have had a huge number of rabbits over the past few weeks suffering dreadfully from myxy - if they had been vaccinated they would have been more protected and either would not have contracted it, or would have suffered a milder version with higher survival rates.

Just to clarify, I'm not having a go at you, I just disagree with some of the things you have said.

Incidentally, why do you hold those strong views with regards to preventative veterinary care? Do you work in practice?

[Shockley]

(Original post by Pawsies)
To justify my reasoning,

Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

They always advocate the most expensive brands. Why? Because unis teach that these are the best foods therefore vets will get more money.

They charge outrageous prices, £60 for a spay/neuter? £29 for tablets?
I'm sorry, that is ridiculous.

They may teach you from scratch at uni, but it might not be right at all.

- Vaccinations are required. Just like we require tetanus and polio jabs, animals need vaccinations to prevent them from contracting diseases. I don't think you've noticed but we have come a long way since the Victorian times. I suggest you educate yourself by reading this: http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet...nationsdog.htm

- Vets will recommend the best foods such as Hills, because they are high in nourishment and have different diet plans to suit the animal's needs. If you are serious about giving your animals the best, you would not feed it on some cheap value substitute full of fat and gristle. Then again, the vet is not forcing you to buy a particular brand.

- £60 is very reasonable for a spay, I would think. Taking into account the cost of equipment, aneasthesia, time and labour for the vets and nurses. It's not as if they're just "taking the hem up on a dress." Also, if you had taken up any veterinary work experience at all, you would very quickly realise that vets often suggest the appropriate cheaper, human substitute for the veterinary drug, as it is the drug companies which are out to make the money.


I only wish we had LeggieLass here to put a few more points your way.

[Annaconda]

im guessing youve had several tetanus jabs in your life, animals have them just the same as humans.
It takes atleast 2 people to spay an animal, and they can take ages. I know a vet that spayed a hamster once!
Anaesthetic is expensive as well.
And then theres all teh aftercare stuff, kennel, bedding etc.
People just dont realise the real cos of medical stuff because the nhs payed for all their medical bills so they dont have to worry about apying for expensive surgeries etc, which cost a lot more that £60 for humans.

sorry i know all this stuff had been said before.