• Mean starting salary among respondents who accepted full-time positions was $53,868 for males and $44,740 for females.
• When salaries for positions in advanced education were excluded, the mean full-time salary increased to $70,245 for males and $64,794 for females.
• Mean educational debt among the 89.6% of respondents who reported debt was $135,592 for males and $144,654 for females. Mean educational debt for all respondents was $122,596 (median, $120,000) for males and $129,182 (median, $132,000) for females.
In cooperation with the 28 US schools and colleges of veterinary medicine, the AVMA conducted its annual survey of fourth-year veterinary medical students in the spring of 2011 (Appendix). Surveys were sent to 2,618 veterinary students expected to graduate in spring 2011, and responses were received from 2,483 (94.8%). Information regarding year-2011 graduates' employment choices, expected salaries, and estimated educational indebtedness was described in an earlier report.1 The results reported here include an analysis of that information according to gender and contain additional information on employment benefits and demographic characteristics. Of students that responded to the survey, 22.3% (553) were male and 77.7% (1,930) were female. Base sizes in the present report vary because some respondents did not answer all questions.
Employment Preferences, Offers, and Acceptances
At the time of the survey, 97.5% (2,421/2,483) of respondents indicated that they were actively seeking employment or advanced education in veterinary medicine. The remainder of respondents (2.4% [62]) indicated that they were not actively seeking such positions. Respondents seeking veterinary positions were asked to indicate their top 3 employment preferences. Employment preferences were similar between male and female respondents. Of 538 males and 1,878 females who answered the question, the first choice for both groups was employment in the private sector (65.2% [351] of males and 59.4% [1,115] of females), followed by advanced education (30.5% [164] of males and 36.6% [687] of females) and public and corporate employment (4.1% [22] of males and 3.7% [70] of females). The remainder of respondents (n = 7) indicated other types of employment and comprised < 1% of each group.
Among respondents seeking veterinary positions, 81.8% (441/539) of males and 72.1% (1,357/1,882) of females had received ≥ 1 offer of employment or advanced education. Of year-2011 male respondents with employment offers, 49.0% had > 1 offer and 10.4% had ≥ 4 offers (Table 1). Among year-2011 female respondents with employment offers, 32.9% had > 1 offer and 3.0% had ≥ 4 offers. The mean number of employment offers received was 1.9 for male and 1.5 for female respondents.
Distribution of numbers of offers of employment received by female and male year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges.
Female (n = 1,356) | Male (n = 441) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. of offers | No. | % | No. | % |
1 | 909 | 67.0 | 225 | 51.0 |
2 | 300 | 22.1 | 114 | 25.9 |
3 | 106 | 7.8 | 56 | 12.7 |
≥4 | 41 | 3.0 | 46 | 10.4 |
Surveys were sent to 2,618 veterinary medical students expected to graduate in spring 2011, and responses were received from 2,483; some respondents did not answer every question. Of 2,421 respondents seeking positions at the time of the survey, 1,798 had received ≥ 1 employment offer.
Among those who had received offers, similar proportions of male and female respondents had accepted offers of employment (85.7% [378/441] of males and 85.4% [1,159/1,357] of females). These individuals represented 63.5% of respondents who indicated that they were seeking a veterinary position. Of the respondents who had accepted offers, 80.6% (304/377) of males and 85.3% (987/1,157) of females had accepted an offer that matched their first choice, whereas 5.3% (20) of males and 5.1% (59) of females had accepted an offer of employment or advanced education that was not among their top 3 choices.
The distribution of respondents who had accepted veterinary positions was determined (Table 2). The types of employment accepted most often by male respondents were advanced education positions (40.5%), companion animal exclusive practice (23.5%), and mixed animal practice (14.0%). For female respondents, the positions accepted most often were advanced education positions (55.7%), companion animal exclusive practice (24.1%), and mixed animal practice (7.9%). Respondents entering internships were asked to provide their primary reason for undertaking an internship (Table 3). Most (54.5%) males indicated that they planned to apply for a residency program; 32.5% wanted to practice better-quality veterinary medicine, and 9.8% believed they needed more training before entering veterinary practice. Among females, 37.9% indicated that they wanted to practice better-quality veterinary medicine, 33.1% planned to apply for a residency program, and 24.8% believed they needed more training before entering veterinary practice. Less than 1% of each respondent group cited earning more money in veterinary medicine as the primary reason they were undertaking an internship.
Distribution of employment types among year-2011 graduates* of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
Female (n = 1,159) | Male (n = 378) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Practice type | No. | % | No. | % |
Food animal exclusive | 7 | 0.6 | 22 | 5.8 |
Food animal predominant | 12 | 1.0 | 18 | 4.8 |
Mixed animal | 91 | 7.9 | 53 | 14.0 |
Companion animal exclusive | 279 | 24.1 | 89 | 23.5 |
Companion animal predominant | 57 | 4.9 | 22 | 5.8 |
Equine | 30 | 2.6 | 8 | 2.1 |
University | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
Uniformed services | 21 | 1.8 | 0 | 2.6 |
State or local government | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Federal government | 7 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.3 |
Industry or commercial | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 |
Not-for-profit | 4 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
Advanced education | ||||
Internship (private or academic) | 570 | 49.2 | 126 | 33.3 |
MBA | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
MPH | 7 | 0.6 | 3 | 0.8 |
MPVM | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
MS | 5 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.3 |
PhD | 15 | 1.3 | 4 | 1.1 |
Residency program | 44 | 3.8 | 15 | 4.0 |
Other advanced study | 3 | 0.3 | 4 | 1.1 |
All advanced education | 646 | 55.7 | 153 | 40.5 |
Other employmenttype | 3 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 |
In total, 1,537 respondents had accepted employment offers at the time of the survey.
Distribution of primary reason for undertaking an internship by year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
Female (n = 565) | Male (n = 123) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Reason | No. | % | No. | % |
To practice better quality veterinary medicine | 214 | 37.9 | 40 | 32.5 |
Need more training before entering veterinary practice | 140 | 24.8 | 12 | 9.8 |
Plan to apply for residency program | 187 | 33.1 | 67 | 54.5 |
Feel I will earn more money in veterinary medicine | 5 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 19 | 3.4 | 4 | 3.3 |
Nearly all respondents entering private practice (97.6% [205/210] of males and 98.5% [464/471] of females) indicated they would be an employee rather than self-employed. Similar percentages of male and female respondents entering private practice expected to work full-time (98.1% [207/211] vs 97.4% [458/470], respectively).
Base Starting Salaries and Additional Benefits
Survey questions allowed respondents to indicate various means by which they expected to be compensated for work (eg, base salary or stipend only, base salary or stipend with production bonus, and production bonus only [in lieu of salary]). Respondents who accepted an offer of employment in 2011 were asked to indicate types of compensation expected.
Among the 362 male respondents who indicated the type of salary they would receive, 70.2% (254) indicated they would receive a guaranteed salary with no option for a production bonus, 25.4% (92) indicated they would receive a base salary with a production bonus, and 0.8% (3) indicated they would receive a salary fully based on production; 3.6% (13) were uncertain. Of 1,119 females respondents who answered this question, 73.1% (818) indicated they would receive a guaranteed salary with no option for a production bonus, 21.1% (236) indicated they would receive a base salary with a production bonus, 1.1% (12) indicated they would receive a salary fully based on production, and 4.7% (53) were uncertain. The mean number of hours that respondents expected to work each week was 56.4 (median, 50) for males and 58.2 (median, 60) for females.
Mean full-time starting salaries in 2011 among all employer types combined (private, public, or corporate practice and advanced education programs) were $53,868 for male (n = 361) and $44,740 for female (1,116) respondents (all salary values are reported in nominal dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation). When advanced education salaries were excluded from the analysis, mean full-time starting salaries increased to $70,245 for males and $64,794 for females. Mean full-time starting salary for respondents who accepted an offer in private practice was $70,412 for males (n = 204) and $65,056 for females (455; Figure 1). Among male respondents, full-time private practice salaries ranged from $64,608 for mixed animal practice to $75,290 for companion animal exclusive practice. Among female respondents, full-time private practice salaries ranged from $43,655 for equine practice to $68,607 for companion animal predominant practices.
Mean full-time starting salary of year-2011 male (white bars; n = 204) and female (black bars; 455) graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges entering private practice. Full-time salary information was provided by 659 of 668 respondents who had accepted private practice employment offers at the time of the survey. CAE = Companion animal exclusive. CAP = Companion animal predominant. EQU = Equine. FAE = Food animal exclusive. FAP = Food animal predominant. MIX = Mixed animal practice.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 239, 8; 10.2460/javma.239.8.1070
Additional Compensation
Respondents were asked whether they would receive a signing bonus, moving allowance, or emergency case compensation; multiple responses to the question were allowed. In total, 400 respondents (34.0% [125/368] of males and 24.5% [275/1,124] of females) expected to receive ≥ 1 of these types of compensation in addition to their salary. A signing bonus was expected by 25.2% (31/123) of males and 17.7% (48/271) of females, a moving allowance was indicated by 26.8% (33) of males and 27.3% (74) of females, and emergency case compensation was expected by 65.9% (81) of males and 72.0% (195) of females.
Additional Benefits
Respondents who accepted employment offers were asked to indicate the additional benefits that would be provided by their new employer. All but 4.6% of respondents (70/1,537; 4.0% [15/378] of males and 4.7% [55/1,159] of females) reported that they would receive ≥ 1 of the benefits listed in the survey. In 2011, the compensation packages of more than half of the 1,537 respondents who accepted positions included medical-hospital plan (71.5% [1,099]), paid vacation leave (70.6% [1,085]), continuing education expenses (63.1% [970]), liability insurance (57.4% [882]), license fees (52.2% [803]), and continuing education leave (50.6% [777]; Figure 2).
Frequency distributions of benefits offered by employers to new graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. *Not included in the 2008 survey.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 239, 8; 10.2460/javma.239.8.1070
Although the percentages of male and female respondents that expected to receive these benefits were fairly similar overall, the percentage of males indicating they would receive individual benefits was higher than that of females (Table 4). Benefits for which the greatest distribution difference was detected between genders were license fees (60.3% of males vs 49.6% of females) and continuing education leave (58.7% of males vs 47.9% of females). The benefit reported most often by both genders was a medical-hospitalization plan (males, 74.3%; females, 70.6%).
Distribution of employment-related benefits received by year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
Female (n = 1,159) | Male (n = 378) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Benefit | No. | % | No. | % |
Medical-hospitalization plan | 818 | 70.6 | 281 | 74.3 |
Dental plan | 379 | 32.7 | 129 | 34.1 |
Tax-deferred retirement plan | 219 | 18.9 | 98 | 25.9 |
Informal profit-sharing plan | 14 | 1.2 | 15 | 4.0 |
Employer contribution or match tax-deferred retirement plan | 173 | 14.9 | 74 | 19.6 |
Life insurance | 202 | 17.4 | 75 | 19.8 |
Disability insurance | 271 | 23.4 | 122 | 32.3 |
Liability insurance | 659 | 56.9 | 223 | 59.0 |
Association dues | 502 | 43.3 | 187 | 49.5 |
License fees | 575 | 49.6 | 228 | 60.3 |
Continuing education expenses | 716 | 61.8 | 254 | 67.2 |
Continuing education leave | 555 | 47.9 | 222 | 58.7 |
Paid legal holidays | 263 | 22.7 | 113 | 29.9 |
Paid sick leave | 437 | 37.7 | 168 | 44.4 |
Paid vacation leave | 813 | 70.1 | 272 | 72.0 |
Personal use of vehicle | 125 | 10.8 | 66 | 17.5 |
Discounted pet care services | 566 | 48.8 | 180 | 47.6 |
Other | 48 | 4.1 | 11 | 2.9 |
Educational Indebtedness
Most respondents had accumulated educational debt by the time they graduated. Among respondents who answered questions about debt in 2011, only 9.6% (53/553) of males and 10.7% (206/1,926) of females did not incur any educational debt. Mean reported debt among respondents who had debt was $135,592 for males (n = 500) and $144,654 for females (1,720; all values for educational debt are reported in nominal dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation). Median debt of these individuals was $130,000 for males and $140,000 for females. Among those with debt, 16.2% (81/500) of males and 21.9% (376/1,720) of females had debt ≥ $200,000. Among respondents who had incurred debt for veterinary medical school education alone, the mean value was $124,703 (median, $120,000) for males and $133,937 (median, $130,000) for females. Mean total educational debt for all respondents who answered the question was $122,596 (median, $120,000) for males and $129,182 (median, $132,000) for females.
Graduate Characteristics
Male and female veterinary students were approximately the same age at graduation (mean, 27.8 years for males [n = 553] and 27.5 years for females [1,928]; Table 5). The majority of respondents (87.5% of males and 88.8% of females) described themselves as white or Caucasian. Two-thirds (66.5%) of respondents were single and had never married; 60.3% (331/549) of males and 68.2% (1,311/1,921) of females were in this category. A slightly higher percentage of males were married (35.9%), compared with the percentage of married females (28.9%), and a higher percentage of male respondents had children (14.2% of males, compared with 4.9% of females).
Demographics of year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender.
Female | Male | All | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Characteristic | No. | Value | No. | Value | No. | Value |
Mean age (y) | 1,928 | 27.5 | 553 | 27.8 | 2,481 | 27.6 |
Marital status (%) | ||||||
Single | 1,311 | 68.2 | 331 | 60.3 | 1,642 | 66.5 |
Married | 555 | 28.9 | 197 | 35.9 | 752 | 30.4 |
Divorced | 54 | 2.8 | 20 | 3.6 | 74 | 3.0 |
Widowed | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.1 |
Respondents with children (%) | 94 | 4.9 | 78 | 14.2 | 172 | 6.9 |
Race or ethnicity (%) | ||||||
White or Caucasian | 1,618 | 88.8 | 461 | 87.5 | 2,079 | 88.5 |
Black or African American | 41 | 2.3 | 13 | 2.5 | 54 | 2.3 |
Hispanic | 56 | 3.1 | 22 | 4.2 | 78 | 3.3 |
Asian or Pacific Islander | 57 | 3.1 | 21 | 4.0 | 78 | 3.3 |
Other | 50 | 2.7 | 10 | 1.9 | 60 | 2.6 |
Marital status information was provided by 1,921 females and 549 males. The total number of respondents that provided information on children was 1,924 for females and 551 for males. Information on race or ethnicity was provided by 1,822 females and 527 males. Respondents from the University of California-Davis did not provide data on race or ethnicity. Units in parentheses apply to the value column.
References
1. Shepherd AJ, Pikel L. Employment, starting salaries, and educational indebtedness of year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011; 239:953–957.
Appendix
Schools and colleges of veterinary medicine that participated in the 2011 survey of new graduates.1
Veterinary school | Response rate of graduating class (%) |
---|---|
Auburn University | 99 |
Colorado State University | 89 |
Cornell Veterinary College | 100 |
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University | 87 |
Iowa State University | 84 |
Kansas State University | 99 |
Louisiana State University | 100 |
Michigan State University | 98 |
Mississippi State University | 99 |
North Carolina State University | 100 |
The Ohio State University | 89 |
Oklahoma State University | 100 |
Oregon State University | 94 |
Purdue University | 100 |
Texas A&M University | 100 |
Tuskegee University | 100 |
University of California-Davis | 100 |
University of Florida | 96 |
University of Georgia | 100 |
University of Illinois | 90 |
University of Minnesota | 98 |
University of Missouri-Columbia | 86 |
University of Pennsylvania | 77 |
University of Tennessee | 96 |
University of Wisconsin | 99 |
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine | 100 |
Washington State University | 100 |
Western University of Health Sciences | 92 |
Total | 95 |
(Adapted from Shepherd AJ, Pikel L. Employment, starting salaries, and educational indebtedness of year-2011 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011;239:953–957. Reprinted with permission.)