Anyone’s child want to be a veterinarian?

[Anonymous]

I’m not seeing how this makes much financial sense. The starting salary for newly graduated vets can be as low as 80-100k, median salary is 110-130k, and 90th percentile salary is 200k. Seems super hard to justify the high cost of vet school and debt to make this much. What do you tell your teen?

[Anonymous]

What do you tell them?
That not everything in life is about money.
That they should do what they love in life.

By your logic there are many jobs that should be avoided and we should all be finance bros or big firm lawyers who work a zillion hours per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you tell them?
That not everything in life is about money.
That they should do what they love in life.

By your logic there are many jobs that should be avoided and we should all be finance bros or big firm lawyers who work a zillion hours per week.

And if you are the latter, be prepared to pay your vet. A lot.

[Anonymous]

My child is a vegetarian.

[Anonymous]

It really doesn’t make financial sense. All the tofurkey and soy cheese is way more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you tell them?
That not everything in life is about money.
That they should do what they love in life.

By your logic there are many jobs that should be avoided and we should all be finance bros or big firm lawyers who work a zillion hours per week.

And if you are the latter, be prepared to pay your vet. A lot.

Sadly, you are paying your vet a lot and it isn’t going to the vet, It’s going to private equity. The older vets who were retiring did extremely well as PE outbid the next in line vet who would have taken on the practice. There really isn’t a pathway anymore for younger vets. They’ll be slaves to
PE until the practice is bled dry, bought and sold again by PE or bankrupted and they’ll be looking for a new vet job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not seeing how this makes much financial sense. The starting salary for newly graduated vets can be as low as 80-100k, median salary is 110-130k, and 90th percentile salary is 200k. Seems super hard to justify the high cost of vet school and debt to make this much. What do you tell your teen?

Bigger issue is the very high suicide rate. 2x - 4x higher than the general population, with female vets more at risk.

[Anonymous]

There's a nationwide vet shortage and newly minted vets in the DMV at least are getting offers for more than that plus signing bonuses.

[Anonymous]

Salaries are higher than that but agree the PE "investments" have turned it into a business racket. Around here the practices scaling up have huge staffs and overhead, the days of small practices have waned considerably.

Bigger issue is even getting into DVM school, it's as if not more competitive than medical school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really doesn’t make financial sense. All the tofurkey and soy cheese is way more expensive.

It really is.

[Anonymous]

high rates of suicide in vet med. You have to saw off the pets heads if they suspect rabies.

[Anonymous]

Getting into vet school is more difficult than medical school. Not too many schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you tell them?
That not everything in life is about money.
That they should do what they love in life.

By your logic there are many jobs that should be avoided and we should all be finance bros or big firm lawyers who work a zillion hours per week.

And if you are the latter, be prepared to pay your vet. A lot.

Sadly, you are paying your vet a lot and it isn’t going to the vet, It’s going to private equity. The older vets who were retiring did extremely well as PE outbid the next in line vet who would have taken on the practice. There really isn’t a pathway anymore for younger vets. They’ll be slaves to
PE until the practice is bled dry, bought and sold again by PE or bankrupted and they’ll be looking for a new vet job.

All of this. And the high suicide rate. My child and I have had a lot of discussions about it.
I have a close friend who is a vet and she says in no uncertain terms she wouldn't want her own children to pursue vet medicine.

[Anonymous]

My cousin is a veterinarian and, with PE partnership, recently opened his own practice in the Annapolis area: he does very well.

[Anonymous]

Passion for taking are of animals - priceless