What You'll Do

  • Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries.
  • Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
  • Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper.
  • Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
  • Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
  • Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
  • Train or supervise workers who handle or care for animals.
  • Provide care to a wide range of animals or specialize in a particular species, such as horses or exotic birds.
  • Euthanize animals.
  • Establish or conduct quarantine or testing procedures that prevent the spread of diseases to other animals or to humans and that comply with applicable government regulations.

Essential Skills

Reading Comprehension 4.12/5
Active Listening 4.12/5
Active Learning 4.0/5
Speaking 3.88/5
Science 3.88/5
Critical Thinking 3.88/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.88/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.88/5
Writing 3.5/5
Service Orientation 3.38/5
Monitoring 3.25/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.25/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Attention to Detail, Dependability, Cautiousness, Integrity, Intellectual Curiosity

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Comprehension 4.12/5
Written Comprehension 4.12/5
Oral Expression 4.12/5
Problem Sensitivity 4.0/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.0/5
Near Vision 4.0/5
Information Ordering 3.75/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Acrobat American Data Systems PAWS Veterinary Practice Management Complete Clinic Eklin Information Systems VIA Henry Schein ImproMed IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX Cornerstone IDEXX Laboratories IDEXX VPM ImproMed Infinity InformaVet ALIS-VET IntraVet Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word Mobile Data Software VetInfo Sneakers Software DVMax Practice Vetport Web browser software

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.78/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.71/5)
  • Cautiousness (High importance: 4.52/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 4.52/5)
  • Intellectual Curiosity (High importance: 4.52/5)

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How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Animal Anatomist Animal Chiropractor Animal Doctor Animal Pathologist Animal Physiologist Animal Surgeon Companion Animal Practitioner Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet) Equine Dentist Equine Vet (Equine Veterinarian) Horse Doctor Laboratory Animal Care Veterinarian (Lab Animal Care Vet) Laboratory Veterinarian (Lab Vet) Large Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet) Mixed Animal Veterinarian (Mixed Animal Vet) Poultry Veterinarian (Poultry Vet) Public Health Veterinarian (Public Health Vet) Relief Veterinarian (Relief Vet) Small Animal Veterinarian (Small Animal Vet) Technical Services Veterinarian (Technical Services Vet) Treatment Coordinator Veterinarian Epidemiologist (Vet Epidemiologist) Veterinary Anatomist (Vet Anatomist) Veterinary Bacteriologist (Vet Bacteriologist) Veterinary Cardiologist Veterinary Dentist (Vet Dentist) Veterinary Epidemiologist (Vet Epidemiologist) Veterinary Inspector (Vet Inspector) Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostician (Vet Lab Diagnostician) Veterinary Livestock Inspector (Vet Livestock Inspector) Veterinary Meat Inspector (Vet Meat Inspector) Veterinary Medicine Doctor (DVM) Veterinary Medicine Scientist (Vet Medicine Scientist) Veterinary Microbiologist (Vet Microbiologist) Veterinary Parasitologist (Vet Parasitologist) Veterinary Pathologist (Vet Pathologist) Veterinary Pharmacologist (Vet Pharmacologist) Veterinary Physiologist (Vet Physiologist) Veterinary Radiologist (Vet Radiologist) Veterinary Surgeon (Vet Surgeon) Veterinary Surgical Specialist (Vet Surgical Specialist) Veterinary Toxicologist (Vet Toxicologist) Veterinary Virus Serum Inspector (Vet Virus Serum Inspector) Wildlife Veterinarian (Wildlife Vet) Zoo Veterinarian (Zoo Vet)

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.