Job market: hot or not?

Veterinary positions are projected to increase for all veterinary occupations through 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Veterinarians held approximately 58,000 jobs in 2002, providing a good base for new graduates to select from regionally and financially.

About 28 percent of the 58,000 veterinary positions were self-employed or in group practices. Other veterinary positions were filled by government jobs, colleges of veterinary medicine, medical schools, research laboratories, animal food companies and pharmaceutical companies.

The job outlook looks good, and the demand for veterinarians is increasing as people become more willing to pay for better veterinary care, says Dr. Michael J. Reardon, director of admissions at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

The veterinary job market is in an interesting situation, Reardon says. Jobs are plentiful, but the more specific a graduate's preferences are, the more difficult it will be to find a job. For example, a dermatologist in Chicago will have little trouble finding work, but if a graduate further narrows his or her preference to equine dermatology, then the more difficult the hunt can become.

"There are good jobs out there, especially for graduates willing to move," he adds.

But there is a disconnect between matching veterinarians with available positions, Reardon says.

"The Washington metropolitan area has many openings and not enough applicants to fill them," he says.

Many graduates have an idea of where they want to live and the lifestyle they want, and they don't just base where they move solely on job availability.

Thus, some practitioners are experiencing difficulty in attracting veterinarians to their area, Reardon says. New graduates have more of a selection of practices to choose from today than in the past.

"There is a lot of mobility in the entry-level age group," Reardon says. "Relationship issues apply to where veterinarians locate because veterinary jobs are currently easy enough to find in any state.

Salaries have increased significantly in the veterinary profession, too, so wages are not much of an issue in relocation plans; it's the demand, Reardon says.

Rising incomes in the 34-59 age group also allows owners to pay for more veterinary care than they may have been able to afford in years past.

As far as large animal veterinarians, the demand is regional. Large animal practices in northern areas of New York and Pennsylvania are having trouble attracting new veterinarians, while Virginia is having less of a problem, sources say.

"A declining large animal practice base is being experienced because people are going out of the livestock business, and farms are being developed," Reardon says.

"With increases to Homeland Security, food safety and a closer watch on foreign animal diseases, large animal veterinarians and public-health veterinarians are increasingly necessary," he adds.

Reardon says with the veterinary profession shifting to being predominately female, more veterinarians will be needed to fill in for practitioners who want to spend time with their families, and take maternity leave.

"In a practice that would require five full-time veterinarians, one or two more might be needed on a part-time or relief basis.

Reardon says veterinary positions around colleges of veterinary medicine are at a surplus because many veterinarians who are employed by the colleges oftentimes are married to other veterinarians; add the general practitioners in the area, and the equation leaves little room for the new guy.

"There are two pages in our publication full of help-wanted ads from veterinarians looking for associates, says Julie Lawton, CAE, executive director of New York State Veterinary Medical Society.

Most of the advertisements are for small animal practices; the large animal practitioners must be getting their associates via other methods, Lawton says.

Lawton says veterinarians from all over the state can come to Cornell and interview soon-to-be graduates at the university.

"New graduates will not have trouble finding employment anywhere, Lawton says. "I feel comfortable in saying the job market is in favor of the graduate at this point; it is really good."

Reardon adds, "We recently had a reunion for veterinary alumni, and a big point of discussion was finding graduates to be associates."