• Mean starting salary among graduates who accepted full-time positions was $53,807 for males and $47,087 for females.
• When salaries for positions in advanced education were excluded, the mean full-time salary increased to $68,903 for males and $63,319 for females.
• Mean debt among those with debt was $127,879 for males and $130,552 for females.
In cooperation with the 28 US schools and colleges of veterinary medicine, the AVMA conducted an annual survey of veterinary medical graduates in the spring of 2009 (Appendix). Information on veterinary graduates' employment choices, salaries, and educational indebtedness was collected from 2,385 survey respondents, representing 95.7% of all graduates. Of the respondents, 78.0% (1,860) were female, 21.7% (518) were male, and 0.3% (7) did not indicate their gender. In 2009, for the first time, all schools participated in a Web-based survey. Because the Web-based method allows for more detailed data gathering, the salary and additional compensation questions were redesigned and expanded this year to allow for more accurate results.a In the results reported here, base sizes vary because some respondents did not answer all questions.
Employment Preferences, Offers, and Acceptances
At the time of the survey, 95.8% (2,286/2,385) of graduating veterinarians were seeking employment or advanced education in veterinary medicine. Graduates who were seeking employment were asked to indicate their top 3 employment preferences. Employment in the private sector was the first choice of most (66.6% [1,521/2,283]) graduates. A position in an advanced study program was sought by 29.2% (667), 3.8% (86) were seeking employment in the public or corporate sectors, and 0.4% (9) indicated some other type of employment.
Overall, 79.5% (1,817/2,286) of the graduates who were seeking employment received at least 1 employment offer. The mean number of employment offers received was 1.9 among those receiving offers. At the time of the survey, 86.7% (429/495) of male graduates and 77.5% (1,382/1,784) of female graduates had received at least 1 offer of employment. Among those who received offers, the mean number of offers per graduate was 2.4 for males and 1.8 for females. Among male graduates with employment offers, 56.9% had > 1 offer and 18.5% had ≥ 4 offers (Table 1). Among female graduates with employment offers, 42.3% had > 1 offer and 7.0% had ≥ 4 offers.
Distribution of numbers of employment offers received by female (n = 1,377) and male (427) year-2009 graduates of all 28 US veterinary medical schools and colleges.
| No. of offers | Female | Male | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1 | 794 | 57.7 | 184 | 43.1 |
| 2 | 342 | 24.8 | 87 | 20.4 |
| 3 | 145 | 10.5 | 77 | 18.0 |
| ≥ 4 | 96 | 7.0 | 79 | 18.5 |
Employment offers were accepted by 83.9% (1,525/1,817) of graduates who received offers. Of the graduates who accepted offers, 81.2% (1,236/1,523) accepted their first choice of employment, whereas 18.8% (286/1,523) accepted an offer for an employment type that was not among their top 3 choices.
Among graduates who received offers, 85.5% (367/429) of males and 83.4% (1,153/1,382) of females accepted an offer of employment. Among those graduates entering private practice, virtually all (male, 99.0% [207/209]; female, 99.8% [568/569]) indicated they would be an employee rather than self-employed. Almost all graduates (97.3%) who accepted offers expected to work full-time. A similar percentage of male and female graduates expected to work full-time (98.1% vs 97.0%, respectively).
The distribution of graduates by type of employment accepted was determined (Table 2). The types of employment accepted most often by male graduates were advanced study positions (36.8%), companion animal exclusive practice (24.5%), and mixed animal practice (13.4%). For female graduates, the positions accepted most often were advanced study (45.5%), companion animal exclusive practice (30.2%), and mixed animal practice (8.4%).
Distribution of employment types among year-2009 graduates of all 28 US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
| Employment type | Female (n = 1,153) | Male (n = 367) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | |
| Private practice | ||||
| Food animal exclusive | 7 | 0.6 | 15 | 4.1 |
| Food animal predominant | 15 | 1.3 | 19 | 5.2 |
| Mixed animal | 97 | 8.4 | 49 | 13.4 |
| Companion animal exclusive | 348 | 30.2 | 90 | 24.5 |
| Companion animal predominant | 73 | 6.3 | 26 | 7.1 |
| Equine | 48 | 4.2 | 13 | 3.5 |
| University | 5 | 0.4 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Uniformed services | 27 | 2.3 | 9 | 2.5 |
| State or local government | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.3 |
| Federal government | 4 | 0.3 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Industry-commercial | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.3 |
| Not-for-profit | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 |
| Advanced study (total) | 525 | 45.5 | 135 | 36.8 |
| MPH | 4 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.0 |
| MS | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0.3 |
| MPVM | 8 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.0 |
| PhD | 6 | 0.5 | 7 | 1.9 |
| Internship | 477 | 41.4 | 120 | 32.7 |
| Residency program | 27 | 2.3 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Other advanced study | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 |
| Other employment type | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.3 |
Base Starting Salaries and Additional Compensation
To provide the most accurate salary information for new graduates, survey questions regarding salary were redesigned in 2009 to allow for various compensation methods within private practice (base salary, production bonus, and production bonus only [in lieu of salary]). New graduates who accepted an offer of employment in 2009 were asked to identify the method of compensation they expected to receive.b
Mean full-time starting salaries in 2009 were $53,807 for males and $47,087 for females. When salaries for advanced study programs were excluded from the calculation, mean full-time starting salaries rose to $68,903 for males and $63,319 for females. Mean fulltime starting salary for graduates who accepted an offer in private practice was $69,473 for males and $63,654 for females. Among male graduates, salaries for fulltime private practice ranged from $40,423 for equine practice to $74,801 for companion animal exclusive practice (Figure 1). Among female graduates, salaries for full-time private practice ranged from $37,111 for equine practice to $73,000 for food animal exclusive practice.
Mean full-time starting salary of year-2009 male (light green; n = 196) and female (dark green; 542) graduates of all 28 veterinary medical schools and colleges entering private practice. CAE = Companion animal exclusive. CAP = Companion animal predominant. EQU = Equine. FAE = Food animal exclusive. FAP = Food animal predominant. MIX = Mixed animal.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 235, 7; 10.2460/javma.235.7.830
In the 2009 survey, the additional compensation question was revised to focus on specific methods of additional compensation (ie, signing bonus, moving allowance, and emergency cash compensation).c Of males that accepted a position in veterinary practice, 8.4% received a signing bonus, 15.7% received a moving allowance, and 26.6% indicated they expected to receive emergency cash compensation. Among females that accepted a position, 7.2% received a signing bonus, 9.9% received a moving allowance, and 21.6% indicated they expected to receive emergency cash compensation. About 4 in 10 (42.0%) males and 3 in 10 (31.0%) females indicated that they would receive at least one of these sources of additional compensation.
Additional Benefits
Graduates who accepted employment were asked to indicate the additional benefits that would be provided by their new employer. All but 3.9% (59/1,525) reported at least one of the benefits listed in the survey (Figure 2). In 2009, the compensation packages of more than half the graduates who accepted positions included medical-hospital insurance (76.1%), paid vacation leave (73.4%), continuing education expenses (66.0%), liability insurance (59.2%), continuing education leave (55.3%), paid license fees (54.8%), and discounted pet care (50.7%).
Comparison of frequencies of benefits offered by employers to new graduates of all 28 US veterinary medical schools and colleges in 2006 (green), 2007 (yellow), 2008 (purple), and 2009 (turquoise). *Benefit added in 2009 survey.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 235, 7; 10.2460/javma.235.7.830
Percentages of male and female graduates who received each of the benefits were comparable for many benefits (Table 3). Payment of license fees was the benefit for which the biggest difference between genders was evident: 61.3% of male graduates received this benefit, compared with 52.6% of female graduates. The benefit reported most often by both genders was a medical-hospitalization plan (males, 77.7%; females, 75.6%).
Distribution of employment-related benefits received by year-2009 graduates of all 28 US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
| Benefit | Female (n = 1,153) | Male (n = 367) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | |
| Medical-hospitalization plan | 872 | 75.6 | 285 | 77.7 |
| Dental plan | 404 | 35.0 | 113 | 30.8 |
| Tax-deferred retirement plan* | 306 | 26.5 | 115 | 31.3 |
| Informal profit-sharing plan* | 23 | 2.0 | 12 | 3.3 |
| Employer contribution or match to tax-deferred retirement plan* | 228 | 19.8 | 93 | 25.3 |
| Life insurance | 221 | 19.2 | 81 | 22.1 |
| Disability insurance | 298 | 25.8 | 120 | 32.7 |
| Liability insurance | 667 | 57.8 | 233 | 63.5 |
| Association dues | 550 | 47.7 | 205 | 55.9 |
| Licenses* | 607 | 52.6 | 225 | 61.3 |
| Continuing education expenses | 747 | 64.8 | 258 | 70.3 |
| Continuing education leave | 615 | 53.3 | 226 | 61.6 |
| Paid legal holidays | 304 | 26.4 | 126 | 34.3 |
| Paid sick leave | 467 | 40.5 | 165 | 45.0 |
| Paid vacation leave | 833 | 72.2 | 283 | 77.1 |
| Personal use of vehicle | 125 | 10.8 | 62 | 16.9 |
| Discounted pet services* | 591 | 51.3 | 182 | 49.6 |
| Other | 54 | 4.7 | 18 | 4.9 |
Benefit added in 2009 survey.
Educational Indebtedness
Most veterinary students had accumulated substantial debt by the time they graduated. Among graduates who reported their debt, only 11.3% (58/515) of males and 11.5% (213/1,856) of females did not incur any educational debt. Mean debt among those with debt was $127,879 for males (n = 457) and $130,552 for females (1,643). Median debt was $125,000 for males and $126,000 for females. Among those with debt, 40.7% (186/457) of males had debt ≥ $140,000, whereas 42.1% (691/1,643) of female graduates had debt ≥ $140,000.
Graduate Characteristics
Male and female veterinary students were approximately the same age at graduation (mean, 28.1 years for males [n = 518] and 27.7 years for females [1,860]; Table 4). Most graduates were single and had never married; 57.3% (297/518) of males and 66.7% (1,236/1,853) of females were in this category. A slightly higher percentage of males were married (39.8%), compared with the percentage of married females (30.6%). One characteristic that distinguished graduates by gender was the percentage with children: 17.4% of males had at least 1 child, compared with 5.9% of females.
Demographics of year-2009 graduates of all 28 US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
| Characteristic | Female | Male | Both genders | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value | |
| Mean age (y) | 1,860 | 27.7 | 518 | 28.1 | 2,385 | 27.8 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Single (%) | 1,236 | 66.7 | 297 | 57.3 | 1,534 | 64.6 |
| Married (%) | 567 | 30.6 | 206 | 39.8 | 775 | 32.6 |
| Divorced (%) | 47 | 2.5 | 15 | 2.9 | 62 | 2.6 |
| Widowed (%) | 3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Graduates with children (%) | 1,859 | 5.9 | 517 | 17.4 | 2,379 | 8.4 |
Total number of respondents that provided information on marital status was 1,853 for females and 518 for males. For a given characteristic, the sum of the numbers of female and male respondents may not equal the value for both genders because not all respondents reported their gender.
Karen E. Felsted, CPA, MS, DVM, CVPM assisted in the redesign of the graduating senior survey questionnaire.
Because salary questions were reworded for the 2009 survey, caution should be used when comparing 2009 salary information with data collected in previous years.
Because questions regarding additional compensation were reworded for the 2009 survey, caution should be used when comparing additional compensation information with data collected in previous years.
Appendix
Schools and colleges of veterinary medicine that participated in the 2009 survey of new graduates.
| Veterinary school | Response rate of graduating class (%) |
|---|---|
| Auburn University | 100 |
| Colorado State University | 84 |
| Cornell University | 100 |
| Iowa State University | 95 |
| Kansas State University | 91 |
| Louisiana State University | 99 |
| Michigan State University | 89 |
| Mississippi State University | 100 |
| North Carolina State University | 100 |
| The Ohio State University | 91 |
| Oklahoma State University | 100 |
| Oregon State University | 83 |
| Purdue University | 100 |
| Texas A&M University | 100 |
| Tufts University | 100 |
| Tuskegee University | 100 |
| University of California-Davis | 93 |
| University of Florida | 89 |
| University of Georgia | 100 |
| University of Illinois | 95 |
| University of Minnesota | 100 |
| University of Missouri | 99 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 84 |
| University of Tennessee | 100 |
| University of Wisconsin | 100 |
| Virginia Tech and University of Maryland | 100 |
| Washington State University | 100 |
| Western University of Health Sciences | 100 |
| Total | 96 |
