Career as a Veterinary Doctor – a guide to Career Opportunities!

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When you visit a doctor, what do you do? You tell them the symptoms, right? It is because you can say words out loud. And even if the doctor knows your symptoms, it is a difficult task to prescribe medicines. 

Now imagine what a dog does when they visit the doctor. Those poor souls can’t talk. (unless it’s Scooby Dooby Do). That is the kind of difficulty a doctor would face if they don’t know what the dog is feeling. 

That’s how important the role of a veterinarian is. They need to have very direct analytical skills in order to recognize what the animals are going through.

Do you think you have it in you to become a veterinary doctor? Read the blog to know more about the career as a veterinary doctor- the education, skills, job roles, and much more! 

What does a Veterinary Doctor do? 

Veterinarians identify, treat, or study ailments and wounds in animals. includes veterinarians who look for pets and companion animals, examine livestock, and do research and development. In order to identify diseases or injuries and assess their nature, they also examine animals.

Other tasks consist of:

  • Animals that are ill or hurt can be treated by giving medication, setting bones, applying bandages, or having surgery.
  • Gather bodily fluids such as blood, urine, faeces, and other bodily fluids for testing and analysis.
  • Vaccinate animals against a range of illnesses, including rabies and distemper.
  • Provide advice to clients on pet euthanasia decisions or pet deaths.
  • Operate diagnostic tools like radiography or ultrasound equipment, and decipher the images they produce.
  • Provide owners of animals with advice on hygienic practices, nutrition, general maintenance, illnesses, or available treatments.

Job Roles that a Veterinary Doctor can take up 

Do you think a Veterinary doctor can just be a doc? Nope! There are various job roles that one can hold after studying veterinary medicine. The following are the most common ones: 

  • Veterinary Research 

The three main areas of veterinary study are comparative medicine, animal health and welfare, and public health and food safety. University environments are frequently where one can find research opportunities. Veterinarians who pursue extra training in a particular area, such as virology or parasitology, have access to several biomedical research positions.

  • Veterinary public health policymakers

The special skills needed to work in public health can be developed with education and training in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians in public health may keep an eye on the creation of vaccines or react to different disease outbreaks, many of which are zoonotic.

  • Consulting

After working in their field for a while, veterinarians frequently transition into consulting positions. For instance, a veterinarian with advanced skills in toxicology may assist general practitioners in deciding how to treat a poisoned animal. Similar to this, an ex-owner of practice can use their knowledge to assist new clinics in streamlining their procedures. 

  • Military Veterinarian 

Army veterinarians may look after soldiers’ pets, travel on missions to fight disease, create vaccines, or take care of animals that belong to the government. Public health professionals strive to stop and stop the spread of disease. Veterans wishing to have an impact on the world might find it in the military. 

  • Teaching

Vet techs and future veterinarians need competent teachers, and DVMs are qualified to fill such roles because of their education and experience. Experienced professionals can be great teachers. Also, conventional classroom instruction isn’t the sole option; experienced vets can also share their knowledge by giving presentations at conferences, training clients, and creating examinations and evaluations.

  • Veterinarian Technician 

In private clinics, animal hospitals, and research centres, veterinary technicians help doctors diagnose and treat animals. The position entails performing any other duties required to assist veterinarians with the care and treatment of animals, such as testing blood, urine, stool, and other samples, administering vaccines and other medications as directed by a veterinarian, administering anaesthesia and otherwise preparing animals for surgery.

  • Veterinarian Surgeon:

The job description covers all surgical procedures involving animals. They are experts in the treatment and recovery from fractures and other joint and bone ailments.

Career Path to become a Veterinary Doctor 

After 10th you need to take up science as a stream and also start preparing for the NEET or  All India Pre Veterinary Test (AIPVT) exam such that you are eligible to take admission in an undergraduate course. Post this, there is only one career path to becoming a veterinary doctor:

PATH 1: Bachelor of Veterinary Science (B.V.Sc) 

The program, commonly known as B.V.Sc, provides training that equips graduates to identify animal ailments and recommend treatments. The course material includes a thorough examination of animal anatomy, physiology, and illnesses. The five-year program will include both academic coursework and practical exams. To get the B.V.Sc degree, candidates must also enrol in a medical internship that lasts between six months and a year in the program’s final year.

Because of its applicability to the industry, BVSc courses are in high demand. Immediately following graduation, the students are hired by the industry. The curriculum is included in the program in such a way that graduates will have a strong dedication to research and animal welfare.

Post-B.V.Sc, you can pursue your M.V.Sc, or Masters of Veterinary Science. The two-year postgraduate master’s degree programme in veterinary science is intended to have a thorough understanding of anatomy, physiology, surgery, and the treatment of various diseases in animals. You must have a Bachelor’s degree in either veterinary science or animal husbandry with a minimum cumulative GPA of 55% to be eligible for this course.

To get a whole idea of how to become a veterinary doctor, you can check out this blog.

Salary of a Veterinary Doctor

The average gross pay for veterinarians in India is INR 10,65,755. Wage estimates based on data from anonymous Indian employees and employers via salary surveys found the following to be the average level of salary according to the experience level in India:

Career Level Entry-level Mid-Career Experienced
Salary/ year 7,58,548 INR10,65,755 INR13,44,250 INR

Check out Clever Harvey’s JuniorMBA Entrepreneurship and FutureCEO programs to start your own practice

Is becoming a Veterinary Doctor a good career option?

Veterinarians have the chance to work in a variety of fields, including as nutrition experts for dairy cattle feed, assistant professors in various universities, extension field officers in nationalized banks, captain in the Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) of the army, and assistant commandant in the BSF. Veterinary technicians, dairy consultants, pharmaceutical, vaccine, and feed manufacturing businesses are among other fields where veterinarians can work.

Additionally, veterinarian doctors’ employment is predicted to increase by 18% over the next 10 years, faster than the average for all occupations. The need for veterinary professionals will increasingly rise as problems involving pets become more prevalent. The veterinary industry has advanced so much in comparison to human healthcare that they now provide cutting-edge services.

Skills required to become a Veterinary Doctor

  • Consideration for animals

Since a large part of becoming a veterinarian entails providing compassionate care for animals, you should have a strong respect for them.

  • Verbal Communication

Veterinarians may work with veterinary assistants or technicians who adhere to their orders, thus they should be excellent communicators verbally. Veterinarians must communicate with pet owners and hear their worries about a pet’s welfare, therefore they must be excellent communicators as well.

  • Empathy
Other than these skills, you will also require patience to deal with such kind of clients.
Other than these skills, you will also require patience to deal with pet owners.
Source

You may have to advise pet owners that their pet needs to be put to sleep because of an illness or injury as a veterinarian. Because of this, you ought to show empathy for each client’s predicament and provide them with a sense of support.

  • Detail-oriented

A veterinarian employs veterinary medical technology to diagnose an animal after assessing its physical condition. They should thus pay close attention to every little detail because even a small indication could indicate an animal has a sickness or injury.

  • Physical Stamina 

A certain amount of physical strength could be quite helpful to a veterinarian as they may need to care for huge animals and assist in lifting or restraining them.

  • Knowledge of animal anatomy

In order to best help their patients and their owners, veterinarians should be highly knowledgeable about animal anatomy. They may treat animals such as dogs, cats, birds, horses, and more.

Types of Industries Hiring for a Veterinary Doctor

Be a Proud Veterinarian
Be a Proud Veterinarian!
Source

It seems like a Veterinary doctor works where there are animals. Like duh! But what are the specific industries that hire a veterinary doctor, you ask? They are the following:

  • Business Consultancy
  • Health-care
  • Medical Research
  • Public Policymaking
  • Military
  • Pharmaceutical industries
  • Agriculture and production
  • Training and behaviour management
  • Education

Top Recruiters for a Veterinary Doctor in India

  • Venky 
  • MSD 
  • Intas 
  • Cipla 
  • Diagovet
  • Godrej 
  • Kapila 
  • Vetlab 
  • Growell 
  • Magicvets 
  • Amul 
  • Mother Dairy

Courses to Upskill as a Veterinary doctor

Consider a handful of the following program that you might want to check out to up-skill yourself :

Certificate Courses Institute offering the course Duration 
EDIVET: Do you have what it takes to be a Veterinarian? The University of Edinburgh1-3 Months 
Animal Behavior and Welfare The University of Edinburgh1-3 Months 
Holistic Pet bird care Udemy 4.6 hours of content (Self-paced) 
Dog Emotion and Cognition Duke University1-3 Months 
Pet Nutrition Diploma+ Bonus pet first aid manual Udemy 1.5 hours of content (self-paced) 
The Truths about Dogs and Cats The University of Edinburgh 1-3 Months 
Birds 101: Introduction to Pet Birds edX 4 weeks (self-paced) 
Dog Training: 50 Dog behaviour Issues and ways to fix them Skillshare 6 hours of content (self-paced) 
Animals and Institutions The University of Colorado 1-4 Weeks 

Qualifications to become a Veterinary Doctor

As with any other profession, a Veterinary Doctor requires science as a stream in your 11th and 12th grade followed by an undergraduate course in veterinary medicine.

Degrees in India

It is best to pursue veterinary medicine as an undergraduate degree to become a veterinary doctor. However certain colleges also offer admission to B.Tech graduates.

A) UG Degrees

The two options available are: 

Undergraduate Course Duration 
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Poultry Technology/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology 4 Years 
Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) in Animal Nutrition/ Veterinary Pathology/ Animal Genetics and Breeding/ Veterinary microbiology 5.5 years 

B) PG Degrees

The two post-graduate courses available to become a Veterinary doctor are:

PG Degree courses Duration
Master of Veterinary Science (M.V. Sc)2 Years
 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree3-5 years

Degrees Abroad:

Some of the undergraduate courses that you can pursue to become a Veterinary Doctor abroad include Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Bioscience, BVSc Veterinary Science, BSc (Agr) in Pre-Veterinary Medicine, Bachelor of Veterinary Biology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Bachelor of Veterinary Technology, Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours). These courses are 3-6 years long, depending on the country and college you apply to.

Some of the higher study options to become a Veterinary Doctor include degrees like Master of Veterinary Science, MPhil in Veterinary Science, M.Sc. In Veterinary Pathology, MS in Veterinary Public Health- Epidemiology. These courses are usually 1-2 years long. You can check out their websites before applying.

Entry into these courses will require you to give language proficiency test scores of IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, SATs, etc along with an SOP (Statement of Purpose) and LORs (Letter of Recommendation). Want some help with SATs? We have got you covered. Read this blog to know more!

Want to know more? Check these out:

Here are some books you can check out:

Also be ready for such cute encounters as a veterinary doctor.
Also, be ready for such cute encounters!
Source
  • Becoming a Veterinarian- Boris Kachka
  • My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian’s stories of love, loss and hope.
  • In the Shadow of Man- Jane Goodall.

Here are some famous personalities you can check out:

  • Dr Pawan Kumar
  • Dr Aradhana Pandey
  • Claude Bourgelat
  • Elinor McGrath
  • Louis J

As a result, veterinarians experience a lot of emotional highs and lows every day just like regular doctors do. They had to tell an owner that their pet has passed away while also seeing a gorgeous puppy that afternoon, which ultimately calls for a lot of fortitude and sensitivity. So, if you decide to pursue a profession as a veterinarian, be ready to put in a lot of effort. Wishing you all the very best!

FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions about Veterinary Doctor

How long is the training program for veterinary doctors?

Typically, it takes eight years to become a veterinarian. Normally, it takes four years to finish a B.V. Sc. Candidates for the DVM program often need to complete four more years of study.

Does a veterinarian need to be NEET-certified?

NEET is required for veterinarians.

What percentage of the NEET is required for veterinary school?

To be accepted into a veterinary college, applicants must have a NEET score of 350 or higher in the General category.

Can veterinarians provide medical care to humans?

In an emergency, veterinarians can operate on humans, and since they have studied comparative anatomy so thoroughly, they may even be able to do so safely.

Are veterinary veterinarians indeed doctors?

Animals’ medical care is provided by veterinarians. They make use of their skills to evaluate patients, provide diagnoses, and administer treatments for a range of ailments.

What subjects ought one to take in order to become a vet?

If you want to become a veterinarian, you must enrol in college and obtain a degree in veterinary science or medicine. The program typically lasts five years. To be taken into consideration for admission to vet school, you must have a strong foundation in science. You must be successful in and enjoy academic fields like biology, chemistry, and physics.

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How to become a Veterinary Doctor in India 9 High salary career options in biology other than MBBS. How to become a Wildlife Biologist? To be or not to be a Wildlife Biologist? Find out!
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