Veterinary Career Options: No Shortage of Positions

In the veterinary medical world there are many different kinds of positions that you can have, and you may be surprised to discover that not all of them require a doctorate’s degree. Even if you decide to get a Phd in Veterinary medicine, there is no shortage of specialties that you can have.

In veterinary medicine there are the veterinary assistant, veterinary technician, and veterinarian positions. There are also many different specialties that a veterinarian can have. Some of these specialties include working with exotic pets, working with wild animals in a zoo setting, and specializing in the care of farm animals just to name a few.

In this article we will be going over all of the positions that you can have in veterinary medicine. In addition, we will also be outlining some of the different specialties that a veterinarian can have. We will go over the general job description and briefly explain what education and experience is needed for each of these positions as well. Let’s jump right into it!

The Veterinary Assistant Position

The most basic position that you can have in veterinary medicine is to be a veterinary assistant. You can become a vet assistant by either attending on the job training through a facility or by going through a formal vet assistant program. Usually the formal program is provided by local community colleges, and they usually take students between 6 months and 1 year to complete.

Most of what a veterinary assistant does is keep the vet clinic clean and provide care to the animals that are boarded at the clinic. The cleaning usually includes keeping exam rooms, kennels, and instruments sterile. Vet assistants may be responsible for cleaning things like bathrooms and the vet clinic lobby as well. As for care of animals, giving the animals food, water, prescribed medications, and the recommended exercise is also a part of the vet assistant’s job description.

The Veterinary Technician Position

The next level in the veterinary world is the veterinary technician, or vet tech, position. Usually in order to become a vet tech you will need a degree that takes about two years to complete. Many community colleges, and even some universities, will offer a vet tech degree program.

As for the vet tech’s job description, they get to examine pets, take X-Rays, and perform some other basic tests that the vet will evaluate later. Many vet techs also monitor pets when they are under anesthesia. They can also provide care to the animals in the clinic as well such as administering medications and taking dogs for walks.

The Veterinarian Position

The final veterinary position that we are going to mention is the veterinary position. Of course, you will need a Phd in veterinary medicine before you can become a vet. You do this by first getting a four year degree from a university and then getting another four years of education from a vet school.

Vets get to prescribe medications and diagnose animals with conditions. In addition, many veterinarians also get to perform surgery and other complex medical procedures. Of course, a vet can also do things like examine patients and run tests. There are many different specialties that vets can have, and this may slightly alter their job description. We will go over some different vet specialties a little later on in this article.

There Are Other Types Of Veterinarian Positions Besides the Traditional One

Of course, many people are happy in their traditional veterinary position where they treat pet dogs and cats. There are many other options when it comes to vet specialties though. Most of the time new vets will need to go through a residency period before becoming a specialist, and this period can differ depending on the specialty. Here we will be going over a few of the vet specialties out there in more detail!

You Could be a Vet That Specializes in Farm Animals

Some vets would like to specialize in animals like horses, cows, and other kinds of farm animals rather than just caring for the more traditional dogs and cats. Luckily for those farm animal lovers out there, there are some veterinarians that specialize in this field. You may need to live in a more rural location, but it is worth it for those vets that love caring for these kinds of animals.

You Could be a Vet That Specializes in Exotic Pets

You could also specialize in caring for exotic pets. After all, pet guinea pigs, snakes, and birds need vet care too. In order to specialize in the care of exotic pets you will likely need to do things like attend training and seminars, and you might also need to join a specific organization for the type of exotic pet that you would like to specialize in. For example, if you would like to specialize in caring for birds then it would be a good idea to join the association of avian medicine. In addition to this association, there is also the association of exotic mammal veterinarians and the association of reptile and amphibian veterinarians.

You Could be a Zoo Veterinarian

Meanwhile, some vets may want to work with animals that are on the more wild side. Luckily, there are zoo veterinarians, and this is the perfect position for these people. Zoo veterinarians perform pretty much the same job that traditional vets and vet techs do. However, they are performing these tasks on wild animals.

veterinarian and zookeeper getting blood drawn from the tiger

There Are Many Other Specialties Vets Could Get Into

There are many other veterinary specialties that vets can have in addition to the positions that we have already mentioned. In fact, many of these vet specialties are similar to the specialties that human doctors can have. Some of these vet specialist  positions include but are not limited to:

• Behavioral medicine
• Emergency and Critical Care
• Dentistry
• Anesthesiology
• Nutritionists
• Internal medicine specialties such as Cardiology, Neurology, Oncology, and more