Veterinarian
Veterinarians diagnose and treat sick and injured animals, and advise their owners on keeping them well.
- Median salary
- $125,500
3.9%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 14,500
1.4%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +17.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- 2 out of 10
- Average hours
- 45/wk
+5h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
- Most veterinarians work in general or mixed practice, where a single day can move from vaccinations to an emergency caesarean.
- A veterinary nurse carries out the routine animal care and administration, but the veterinarian makes the clinical decisions and holds the legal responsibility for treatment.
- You could also work in government biosecurity, research, a specialist referral hospital, or zoo and wildlife medicine.
How much do veterinarians earn?
The median full-time salary for a veterinarian is $125,500 per annum, before tax, up $26,100 since 2018.
Emergency and after-hours work pays more than routine daytime consults, and specialist registration in surgery, medicine or imaging lifts earnings further. Rural and remote practices often advertise above the city rate because vacancies there are harder to fill, and owning a practice changes the picture again. When you compare offers, ask what the on-call roster looks like, whether it is paid or built into the salary, and who covers registration and continuing education costs.
What does a veterinarian do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Examining and treating animals across a caseload that swings from routine vaccinations to genuine emergencies
- Performing surgery, from routine desexing to procedures where the plan changes once you are inside
- Explaining a diagnosis, the treatment options and the likely cost to an owner who may be frightened or grieving
- Weighing what is medically best for an animal against what its owner can actually afford
- Keeping clinical records, pathology results and medication charts current between appointments
What skills do veterinarians need?
Employers look for animal care and handling, clinical assessment and treatment, medication management, backed by Ultrasound and diagnostic imaging equipment fluency and strong problem solving.
Specialist skills
- Animal care and handling
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Medication management
- Care planning and coordination
- Patient care and support
Software and tools
- Ultrasound and diagnostic imaging equipment
- Surgical instruments and operating theatre
- Veterinary practice management software
- Blood analysers and laboratory equipment
- Endoscopes
General skills
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
Is the job growing?
About 14,500 people work as veterinarians in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 17.8% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a veterinarian?
Here's the path most veterinarians take, step by step.
- 1Complete an accredited veterinary degree
In Australia that means a Bachelor of Veterinary Science or a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, five to six years of study with clinical placements in the later years. Entry is competitive and most courses require chemistry, and often maths, at year 12.
- 2Get clinical experience while you study
Placements, weekend work in a clinic and after-hours emergency shifts show you what the pace is really like and help you choose between small animal, mixed and large animal practice.
- 3Register in the state or territory where you will work
Registration is handled by the veterinary board in each state or territory rather than nationally, and you keep it current through continuing professional development.
- 4Take an internship or graduate program if you want a speciality
A twelve-month rotating or emergency internship in a referral hospital is how most specialists begin, and government graduate programs cover biosecurity and disease investigation.
- 5Specialise through a college membership
The Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists awards membership by examination once you have several years in practice, and residencies in surgery, medicine or emergency care take longer again.
Study routes we have checked
Qualifications that are a recognised way into this role, and what else you need.
- Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours)
A recognised route into this role
Complete an AVBC-recognised professional veterinary qualification and obtain registration with the relevant veterinary board. General animal science or veterinary bioscience alone is insufficient. This catalogue groups awards: verify the chosen provider, programme and intake; the family-level link is not confirmation that every offering is approved.
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
A recognised route into this role
Complete an accredited veterinary program, including its clinical placements, and register with the veterinary board in the state or territory where you will practise. The degree alone does not confer registration.
Ready to apply as a veterinarian?
Whether you're working toward becoming a veterinarian or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a veterinarian move to?
Moving into University Lecturer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $26,500 a year more on average.
- University LecturerRecorded move$152,000+$26,500
Thick lines are moves people were recorded making in Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility (income tax records, 2011-12 to 2020-21). Thin lines are moves we suggest from skill overlap and entry requirements.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
University Lecturer Veterinarians bring deep clinical and research expertise to teaching, though a teaching qualification or further study is needed.Known move | +$26,500 | 3% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a veterinarian?
The typical veterinarian is 37 years old; 63% are women, 73% work full-time, and full-timers average 45 hours a week.
- 37
- Median age
- 63%
- Female share
- 73%
- Full-time
- +5h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a veterinarian?
Your day rarely follows the schedule: a routine vaccination round can turn into an emergency caesarean by mid-afternoon, and the last consult often pushes past closing time. Euthanasia comes up in an ordinary week, and giving an owner bad news is a skill you build over years, not on day one. An on-call roster means some evenings and weekends belong to the practice, and full-time hours average 45 a week. If working out why a case does not match the textbook is what you look forward to, that puzzle carries you through the hard days; if the emotional weight lands hardest, it stays heavy.
What people like
- Cases that do not follow the textbook. An animal cannot tell you where it hurts, so you piece the story together from the examination, the history and the bloods, and the answer is often not the first one you considered.
- Sending an animal home well. A blocked cat that walks out of the clinic, or a dog back on its feet two days after surgery, gives you a result you can see almost immediately.
- Mixed practice keeps the work varied. You might calve a cow in the morning, desex a kelpie after lunch and spend the last hour of the day on a budgie.
- Clients you have known for years. In a country town or a suburban clinic you follow a litter from first vaccination into old age, and owners start asking for you by name.
What people find hard
- Euthanasia in an ordinary week. Putting an animal down is a routine procedure, sometimes because of illness and sometimes because the owner can no longer manage it, and it does not get easier in the way people expect.
- When money decides the treatment. You can know exactly what would save an animal and still watch the owner choose the cheaper option, or nothing at all.
- Late finishes and broken nights. Being on call for a calving or a road accident can put you back in the clinic at 2am with a full appointment list waiting the next morning.
- Patients who cannot be reasoned with. A frightened cat or a working dog in pain will bite, and needlestick injuries, kicks and scratches are an accepted risk of the work.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ veterinarians?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of veterinarians, followed by Public Administration and Safety.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Public Administration and Safety
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 68.3% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 23.1% | |
| Year 12 or below | 1.6% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 1.3% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 1.1% |
Will AI replace veterinarians?
Low exposure. Unlikely. AI will change some of the work around this job, not the job itself.
The day-to-day work of a veterinarian is not easily automated, and the low rating reflects that: animals have to be handled, examined and operated on by a person in the room. Software already helps with the parts that happen on a screen, from radiograph analysis to reminders and clinical notes. Learn those tools well while you are studying, and spend the time they free up on diagnostic reasoning and the conversations with owners.
How a typical week splits
None of the main tasks in this job.
- Reading imaging and laboratory results20% of the week
Software can flag a suspicious spot on a radiograph or an abnormal blood panel, and it works as a second opinion, not the decision.
- Client conversations and clinical records15% of the week
Practice management systems draft vaccination reminders and discharge instructions, which cuts typing but does not change what you tell the owner about the prognosis.
- Handling and examining animals40% of the week
Getting a nervous cattle beast into a crush or a cat out of its carrier, then feeling for the problem, is physical work that new technology has not changed.
- Surgery and emergency procedures25% of the week
A caesarean at 3am or a fracture repair depends on the surgeon's hands and an assistant watching anaesthetic depth, not on an algorithm.
How we work this out
We break each job into its main tasks, estimate the share of a typical week each one takes, and judge how far current AI and automation tools reach into it. The score out of 10 starts from the job's overall rating (low is 1 to 3, moderate 4 to 6, high 7 to 10) and the task split places it within that range. Source: Career Tips analysis of each role's main tasks.
Common questions about becoming a veterinarian
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a veterinarian earn?
Full-time veterinarians earn a median $125,500 per year before tax. Emergency and after-hours work, specialist registration and hard-to-fill rural locations all push earnings above that median, so ask which of those applies to a particular job. Practice ownership is the other big variable, because it adds a share of the business to your clinical income.
How do you become a veterinarian?
You need an accredited veterinary degree, then registration with the veterinary board in the state or territory where you practise. Entry is competitive, with chemistry and often maths required at year 12, and the degree takes five to six years including clinical placements. Graduates who hold a degree in another field can apply for a graduate-entry Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at some universities.
Are veterinarians in demand?
Veterinarians are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 17.8% over the decade to 2035. A projection over that many years says little about the job you apply for this year, so ask a practice directly what its roster looks like and how often it has taken on a new graduate.
Will AI replace veterinarians?
No, and the exposure here is low. Imaging software can flag patterns on a radiograph and practice systems draft reminders and discharge notes, which saves time at the desk. What is worth learning early is the reasoning behind a diagnosis and the way you explain it, because those are the parts an owner is paying for.
What can a veterinarian move into?
Experienced veterinarians move into university teaching and research, where clinical expertise is valued but further study or a teaching qualification is usually needed, and pay runs about $26,500 more than in practice. Many also buy into or open their own practice, which lifts the earnings ceiling but means carrying the business alongside the caseload.
Can a veterinary nurse become a veterinarian?
Not directly. Veterinary nursing is a separate qualification and does not shorten the veterinary degree, so a nurse who wants to make the change applies for the degree and completes it in full. Nursing experience does help with admission and makes the clinical placements easier once you are in.
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