Can I earn a living wage in veterinary practice?

"Veterinary medicine is such a great field," says Karen Felsted, CPA, DVM, MS, CVPM, CVA, of PantheraT Consulting. "But nobody can get around the fact that you have to earn a living wage."

And earning that living wage as a veterinary team member in many practices in many places can be hard. Especially if you're trying to support others on a receptionist's or veterinary assistant's or even registered veterinary technician's salary. Even some practice managers get paid peanuts compared to business managers in other industries. You can compare your pay to others in the 2016 Firstline Career Path Study here.

"It's all fine to say, 'Do what you love,' but most people have to eat," Felsted says.

She doesn't have easy answers for those want to stay and grow in the veterinary profession, but she does have a short answer: Acquire as many skills as you can and look for a practice that values those skills and is willing to pay you for them. She's talked about the issue of veterinary team pay before, and you can see her answer this time in the video below.

(P.S. If you're personally feeling the pinch, it might be worth it to talk it over with your boss. Slip them this PDF?)