Career options for veterinarians

A survey conducted by the 2013-2014 AVMA Future Leaders showed that almost 30% of veterinarians were considering a transition in the future. There are many career options for veterinarians. A veterinary education provides in depth training in clinical practice, as well as preparation for scientific jobs and broader business-related positions.

This video on Veterinary Career Transitions was developed in collaboration with the AAVSB, the NBVME, the AVMA and the USDA-APHIS.

Whatever career path you choose or the reason for your transition, your journey can begin here.

What Are My Options?

There are many positions veterinarians can consider exploring. This list provides a starting point for options for veterinarians along with links where more information can be obtained. There may be many other options based on individual interest and experience. Also note that many of these careers require additional training and experience beyond a veterinary degree and clinical experience.

• Academia
  • Veterinary technology faculty
  • Veterinary teaching hospital faculty
  • Undergraduate faculty
• Associations
  • Animal shelter organizations
  • Veterinary Associations
    • American Veterinary Medical Association
    • American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges
    • State Veterinary Medical Associations
    • Veterinary organizations
• Clinical Practice
  • Private Practice
    • Companion animal practice
      • Feline
      • Avian
      • Exotics/pocket pets
      • Emergency
      • Hospice/Euthanasia services
      • Integrative Medicine
        • Acupuncture
        • Chiropractic
    • Mixed animal practice
    • Large animal practice
      • Equine
      • Small ruminant – sheep, goat, llama/alpaca
      • Bovine
      • Swine
      • Poultry
    • Shelter Medicine
    • Rehabilitation/Sports medicine​​
    • House call practice
    • Relief veterinarian
    • Aquatic veterinar​y medicine
      • Aquaculture
      • State wildlife agency aquatic health programs​
    • Laboratory animal medicine
    • Wildlife medicine
    • Zoo medicine
    • Specialty/referral practice​
    • Forensic veterinary sciences
• Computer Software
  • Practice, laboratory, regulatory software development and sales
• Government
• Industry
  • Technical/professional services
  • Sales/marketing
  • Management
  • Research and development
  • Regulatory affairs
• International
  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)- Food Security
  • World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
  • U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Non-governmental organizations – in U.S. and abroad (may be volunteer), including
    • Veterinarians Without Borders
    • Rural Area Veterinary Services​-HSVMA
    • International Veterinarians Dedicated to Animal Health (VIDAS)
    • EcoHealth Alliance​
  • University research or capacity development projects – in U.S. and abroad (typically temporary employment)
• Locally-Based Services
  • Rescue and disaster response
  • Forensic veterinary medicine
  • Local animal organization
  • Animal shelters
• Management​
  • Corporate Veterinary Practice
    • E.g. Banfield, VCA Management
  • Consulting
    • Business
    • Industry
    • Livestock
• Media Work
• Research
  • Universities
  • Industry – examples include: Merial, Zoetis, Elanco
  • USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS)
• Uniformed Services
  • Air Force
  • Army
  • US Public Health Services (USPHS) Commissioned Corps
• Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories
  • University-based laboratories
  • National Veterinary Service Laboratories​ – see USDA
  • State and county public health laboratories
  • State government laboratories
  • Industry
    • E.g. IDEXX, Antech, livestock and poultry laboratories
• Writing/Editing/Publishing
  • Veterinary publishing companies
  • Journal editors

Additional Information on Career Transitions

• AVMA Axon offers a variety of career-related CE on topics ranging from career options to compensation.
• The AVMA Veterinary Career Center is a robust job board for the veterinary profession, offering thousands of searchable job listings, periodic career fairs, and jobseeker tips on subjects ranging from resume writing to working with a recruiter.
• The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine assists with career transitions, specifically geared towards public practice veterinarians.
• The Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (VIRMP) lists all internships and residencies available using the match program. If you are considering advanced training to specialize, this is the place to go.
• All federal government positions are listed on the USAJOBS website, which you must use to apply for all positions. Read an article or watch a webinar on finding veterinary related jobs on USAJobs.